The aim of the Finnish-Japanese research effort is to produce knowledge on the psychosocial and cultural phenomena associated with death and end-of-life care. To this end, a survey will be sent out in November and December of 2015 to one thousand residents of Rovaniemi and Sodankylä over 20 years of age who have been chosen at random. The questionnaire will elicit respondents’ attitudes towards death as well as their experiences and expectations regarding care, support and services at the end of life.


Comparative research design yields new knowledge for improving services

Both Japan and Finland have rapidly ageing populations. The study, to be carried out at the University of Lapland and Sapporo City University, explores what people in northern Finland and northern Japan think about the need for help and support at the end of life and where they would prefer to live in that stage of their lives.

Japan and Finland are very different countries when it comes to culture, religion and social system, particularly in the case of services for older people. In Finland, a Nordic welfare state, the public sector plays a prominent role in such services, whereas in Japan care for older people has traditionally been the responsibility of the family for the most part.

On the other hand, the regions in which the research is being carried out have comparable natural conditions. Finnish Lapland and the island of Hokkaido are geographically similar, with both having to deal with long distances and the problems associated with sparsely populated areas.


Death coming back to the home?

When we lived in a primarily agrarian society, death was a facet of people’s daily lives. With the advance of modernization and improvements in services, death and the final stages of life moved from the home to institutional settings – hospitals and old people’s homes. In recent years, however, the direction of care policy has changed, with this perhaps reflected most clearly in the Finnish Act on Supporting the Functional Capacity of the Older Population and on Social and Health Care Services for Older Persons (980/2012), which came into force in 2013.

Following the reforms brought by the legislation, the aim in organizing services has been to support older persons and enable them to live at home for as long as possible. Similarly, the last stages of life and death will more often take place in the home. With these changes, it has become increasingly important to identify people’s experiences, wishes and needs regarding the end of life.

The comparative study actually began in 2014. Titled "End-of-life care and dying at home", it is a joint effort by researchers in social work at the University of Lapland and University of Helsinki and researchers in nursing at Sapporo City University and Hokkaido University. Three researchers at the University of Lapland are contributing to the study under the direction of Professor of Social Gerontology Heli Valokivi. Leading the research team at Sapporo University is Professor of Nursing Science Kazuyo Sooudi.


Additional information:

Professor Heli Valokivi
Tel. +358 40 484 4257
heli.valokivi (at) ulapland.fi

University Teacher Marjo Outila
Tel. +358 40 484 4176
marjo.outila (at) ulapland.fi