부산대학교 도서관

Korea's long-term care insurance for the elderly, which started in 2008, is a borrowed one from gaeho insurance, which started eight years earlier. Both countries have a policy of welfare equipment benefit systems to support the lives of the elderly who are intellectually and mentally weakened. In this study, we attempted to compare and examine the welfare equipment items in Korea with those in Japan and find out the characteristics of the items in Korea and Japan. In Korea, loitering-detection device, posture changing devices, and incontinence underwears were registered as welfare devices before Japan, and in Japan, automatic urine disposal systems, wheelchair electric assist device, position converters, and lifts for handicapped person were designated as welfare devices before Korea. In addition, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has announced the designation of the excretion prediction support device as a welfare device. If Korea and Japan cooperate to develop welfare equipment items together, it will be of great help in improving the quality of life of the elderly in both countries in a super-aged society.