ABSTRACT

Since service containing occupational therapy for the elderly is closely related not only to in-dividual therapy but also to national policies due to the growing population of the old, we need to set the productive direction for geriatric occupational therapy in accordance with national policies. We intended to provide basic data for efficient preparation for geriatric occupational therapy by comparing the Japanese situation to Korea’s. We used the Japanese cases to study health, medical and welfare service policies, institution for the old, annual state of occupational therapists, employ-ment and training for therapist in order to refer to the fact that Japanese occupational therapy has been changed and developed in accordance with the national welfare service direction. The direction of geriatric occupational therapy should be set along not only with preparation for and response to the national health, medical and welfare policies but also with fundamental actions through changed training in occupational therapy institutes. We hope that Korea’s geriatric health and medical poli-cies will rationally and efficiently cope with various problems caused by the growing population of the old, and further, geriatric occupational therapy will lead the social changes.