Nursing Care Assistant System

Tokushima Prefecture(Tokushima Version)
Lifelong Active Citizen Acceleration
Project for Active Seniors
Background and Reason for the Project
According to the Population Estimates (as ofOctober 1, 2018) by the Ministry of Internal
Affairs and Communications, the total
population of Tokushima Prefecture is 736,000,of which 243,000 are aged over 65 years old.
As a percentage, this translates to 33.1% of thetotal population of Tokushima aged over 65(ranked 5th in the country), well above thenational average of 28.1%, and it is estimatedthe rate will increase while the core workforce
population, meaning the working age
population (between 15 years old and 64
years old), will drastically decline.
Also, according to the Required Number ofCare Worker Human Resources based on the7th Period Insured Long-Term Care ServicePlans (as of May 2018) by the Ministry ofHealth, Labour and Welfare, it is estimatedthat the prefecture will fall about 1,409
workers short of the necessary number of care
worker human resources (about 336,000
nationwide) in 2025, when the post-war babyboom generation will be 75 years old or older.
With the extension of the average life
expectancy and healthy life expectancy, there
are more energetic and motivated senior
people, and now opportunities for suchpeople to find work and be involved in local
society are needed.
Looking at the overall situation, Tokushima
Prefecture is focusing on the use of Active

Seniors in the nursing care service field, wherefew were involved before. The prefecturearranged work in the nursing care service field,
where there is a serious shortfall in humanresources, and established a system (Nursing
Care Assistant System (Tokushima Version)),where active seniors are encouraged to help
with peripheral care work as nursing careassistants. A model project has been in
operation since fiscal year 2017.
Project Aims
Secure care worker human resources(promote middle-aged and older people toenter the nursing care service field)
Increase the number of middle-aged andolder people with basic nursing careknowledge
Realise Work Style Reform in nursing caresites
Help give seniors a worthwhile life

Tokushima Prefecture Version Nursing Care1Assistant (Photo 1)

physical burden on the workers.
This results in developing a system where
those without qualifications or experience caneasily take part, and also those withexperience (potential nursing care workers)
can come back to work even if they once left
the industry.
Additionally, the project is easy to joinbecause it is based on short working hours
that pay attention to workers’ physicalstrength and lifestyle, while providing OJT
training for a certain period of time fornewcomers to allow them to acquire thenecessary knowledge and skills.

Project Outline
Nursing Care Assistant (Tokushima PrefectureVersion) is a system to support a new style ofwork at nursing care sites, allowing people towork without having any previous experienceor qualifications, even for a short time.
It is a system to improve the working
environment of nursing care services by sortingout care workers’ work, which used to cover awide range of miscellaneous work, andallowing nursing care assistants to do
peripheral care work including cleaning, bedmaking and being a companion.
This helps encourage a diverse range ofhuman resources including senior people toenter the field (securing human resources),streamlining nursing care workers’ work,developing an environment where workers
can be dedicated to the technical work, andconsequently improve the quality of nursing
care services.

Tokushima Prefecture Version Nursing CareAssistant (Photo 3)
Results of the ProjectIn the two fiscal years 2017 and 2018, 94
active seniors between 51 and 80 years old(average age of 67) participated in theprefecture’s model project (for three months)
as nursing care assistants, of which 67 (71%)
continued working after the model project
had finished.
More than 90% of seniors who participated inthe model project answered that it was “Good”or “Somewhat good” and over 90% of the peer
workers answered “Very helpful” or“Somewhat helpful”.
Due to favourable coverage in the mass media
and the reputation of nursing care assistants
after the launch of the project, some seniors

Tokushima Prefecture Version Nursing Care
Assistant (Photo 2)
Features and Innovations
The key point of this system is that careassistant work is restricted to peripheral carework, which places only a relatively low2

ready to accept nursing care assistants.
Another issue was related to “defining work”;
facility workers answered “it is a great burden
to sort out work when accepting nursing careassistants”, and “the scope of their work is notclear and it is difficult to determine to whatlevel we can ask them to work”. And, there
was also an issue in “cooperation andmentoring” and there was feedback from anursing care assistant that “it is difficult to ask
questions about work when the existing care
workers are busy”.
To solve such issues, the prefecture provides a
training system for existing workers tointroduce their facilities, offers personaltraining and a psychological care service fornursing care assistants by preparing anddistributing guidelines for facilities that accept
nursing care assistants, and has professionaladvisors in place.

desired to become care assistants, and at least
fifteen senior workers were employed bynursing care facilities independent of theprefecture’s model project, and someapplicants for nursing care assistants werehired as full-time nursing care workers.
Also, more than 30% of nursing care assistants
are qualified with nursing care or careexperience, which resulted in contributing tothe cultivation of potential care worker humanresources.

Future Developments (expected effects andproject vision and issues)
It is expected that the population of theyounger generation will decline in the region
due to increasingly low birth rates and theincrease of the aged population, as well asdepopulation. The prefecture is putting effort
into expanding the fields where active seniors
can play important roles, including fields suchas child care, and is not limited to nursing carealone.

Tokushima Prefecture Version Nursing Care
Assistant (Photo 4)
Issues, Problems and Responses
Although, over the course of the two years, noless than 347 people participated in the
preliminary briefing held before recruitment
interviews, and the prefecture felt that many
seniors were interested in working at nursing
care service sites, only 178, around half ofthem, proceeded to the interview stage. Thisis thought to be because of a mismatch in thepreferred working hours between workers andemployers; although the senior worker side
preferred working a shorter time, such as “2-3days a week” or “morning only”, the facility
side wanted them to work, if possible, “5 daysa week” and not only morning but also “lateafternoon”, when workers raising children left
and it gets busy.
Another factor is that not many facilities are

Reference URL
Tokushima Prefecture website
https://www.pref.tokushima.lg.jp/ippannokat
a/kenko/koreishafukushi/5019706/
Contact
Division in charge: Long Life and Life
Motivation Promotion Office, Long Life andLife Motivation Division, Public Health andWelfare Department
Phone: ＋81-88-621-2173
E-mail: choujuikigaika@pref.tokushima.jp
3