Facing the global trend of ageing society, care and protection for older adults have become a worldwide concern. Nurses play a significant role in taking care of the ageing population in the community, which also diversifies the general view of their functions. In view of this, Kiang Wu Nursing College of Macau (KWNC) organized a lecture on "The Development of Home Care Nursing in Japan" on 9 September, where renowned home care and international nursing expert from the College of Nursing Art and Science of University of Hyogo Dr. Lee Kumsun was invited to share the status and implementation of home care nursing in Japan. More than 200 KWNC students and staff were present at the lecture. 

Facing the fact of Macao's dense population, the concerns about how to make good use of social resources and talents to tackle the ageing society and relevant issues as well as to respond to the intensive manpower demand have become critical. Dr. Lee explained that, Japan is currently implementing an integrated health care system, in which the hospital-based nursing has extended to the community. The setting has also become more patient-oriented. With the inter-professional cooperation between doctors, pharmacists, home nurses and therapists, specific health care, daily life support and care services, especially the home-visit nursing care subsidized by long-term care insurance system are provided to ensure proper care for people in need. 

Nurses play a key role in home-visit nursing care service. Dr. Lee expressed that there are 400,000 people receiving this service throughout Japan today. It is expected that the number of users will increase to 1,000,000 by year 2020. This shows that the demand for nurses in the community and long-term care in tackling the ageing society is increasing dramatically. In addition, the Japanese government is also contributing in nursing education to encourage young nurses to reach the community. A number of home-visit care training is organized, and the remuneration system has been improved accordingly in order to attract more new blood and talent to the field.

The lecture was delivered in Japanese and translated by Nurse Wong Ion Hong, who is a graduate of KWNC and current student of Dr. Lee. As a nurse studying for nursing qualifications in Japan, Wong mentioned that his qualification obtained at KWNC has been recognized and he encouraged current KWNC students to plan for their career wisely as well as to make good use of the resources offered by the College. 
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