中西 永子

目的：看護小規模多機能型居宅介護（看多機）に特徴的なサービス情報の発信と運営状況との関係を明らかにする． 方法：介護サービス情報公開システムに公表された全国の看多機のテキスト情報を厚生労働省から入手し，KH Coderを用いて語の使われ方の特徴を分析した．看多機に特徴的である医療依存度や看取りに関する語を使用していた事業所とそれ以外に分け，利用者数や従業員数，サービスの実施状況を比較した． 結果：医療依存度や看取りに関する語を使用していた事業所は，使用していない事業所よりも要介護5の利用者数，看護職員の常勤人数が有意に多く，処置の実施率も人工肛門の1項目を除く，12項目で有意に高かった． 結論：医療依存度や看取りに関する語を発信していた事業所は，より多くの利用者を確保し多様なサービスを展開していることが示唆された．今後は事業所管理者が看多機サービスの理解を深め，運営に反映できるような支援が求められる．

<jats:sec> <jats:title>Background</jats:title> <jats:p>Japan is a superaging society unparalleled in the world. Elderly people who need medical care do not receive adequate support in the community. As a new service to address this issue, a small-scale multifunctional in-home care nursing service called Kantaki was created in 2012. Kantaki, in collaboration with a primary physician, operates 24 hours a day and provides various nursing services (home visits, home care, day care, and overnight stays) to older people living in the community. The Japanese Nursing Association is working hard to promote this system; however, its low utilization rate is an issue.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Objective</jats:title> <jats:p>This study aimed to determine factors influencing the utilization rate of Kantaki facilities.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Methods</jats:title> <jats:p>This was a cross-sectional study. A questionnaire on the operation of Kantaki was sent to all administrators of Kantaki facilities operating in Japan from October 1 to December 31, 2020. A multiple regression analysis was used to determine factors associated with a high utilization rate.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Results</jats:title> <jats:p>Responses from 154 of the 593 facilities were analyzed. The average utilization rate for all valid responding facilities was 79.4%. The average number of actual users and the break-even point were almost equal, resulting in little surplus profit from facility operations. A multiple regression analysis showed that factors that had a significant impact on the utilization rate included the break-even point, a surplus of users relative to the break-even point (ie, the margin of revenues), the number of months in office of the administrator, the type of corporation (ie, nonprofit), and Kantaki’s profit from operating home-visit nursing offices. The break-even point, a surplus of users relative to the break-even point, and the number of months in office of the administrator were robust. In addition, support for reducing the burden on family helpers, a service sought by the system, significantly and negatively affected the utilization rate. In the analysis that removed the most influential factors, the cooperation of the home-visit nursing office, Kantaki’s profit from operating the home-visit nursing office, and the number of full-time care workers were significantly related.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title> <jats:p>To improve the utilization rate, managers need to stabilize their organization and increase profitability. However, a positive relationship was found between the break-even point and utilization rate, suggesting that simply increasing users did not contribute to cost reduction. Moreover, providing services that meet the needs of individual clients may result in lower utilization rates. These results, which are inconsistent with common sense, reflect the divergence between the assumptions underlying the system’s design and actual conditions. To solve these issues, institutional reforms, such as an increase in nursing care fee points, may be necessary.</jats:p> </jats:sec>