[Health care and social services provided for the elderly in Hawaii: a study of the activities of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Diseases Association in Honolulu].

The purpose of this study is to develop helpful strategies to serve the elderly and their families in Japan. We conducted the study by spending three months at the Honolulu Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, participating in various programs of the Association, conducting a literature search and interviewing various health and social services available to the caregivers and persons with Alzheimer's disease in Hawaii. From the study we make the following recommendations, which we feel would be very helpful if applied to the Japanese context; 1) The supply of information through educational videos and leaflets in caregiver support center and so on. 2) Active efforts to make widely known the social services in public place. 3) The promotion and development of the voluntary activities to increase services and resources for Japanese. 4) The promotion of caregiver support groups in the health care system of each Japanese community. 5) QOL (Quality of Life) programs for dementia patients among elderly such as reminiscence and life review therapy. 6) The development of the organization with the help of professionals and scholars of related fields.