Nursing Home Visits: What Families and Facilities Can Learn from Official Japanese Guidance
Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare previously produced videos and leaflets for staff of elderly facilities, summarising practices and improvement examples for conducting visits during the pandemic, and issued administrative notices multiple times. Based on these materials, this article provides plain and practical advice on visits for families and elderly care institutions in China.
Machine translation of our Chinese article, without human translation review. Suggestions concerning China remain specific to China.
Automatically reviewed, without human verification. Programmatic checks are not professional review. Seek professional advice where appropriate. Automatically reviewed on 10/4/2026, 7:14:25 AM
Chinese fact summaries and suggestions for China (not a full translation)
Original: 高齢者施設における面会の実施に関する取り組みについて｜厚生労働省 · Original language: ja
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Facts from the sources
Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare produced videos and leaflets for staff of elderly facilities, which summarise the practices and improvement examples of facilities that actually conducted visits during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as points to note when conducting visits, for each facility to refer to when implementing visits. View source
Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare pointed out that visits in elderly facilities are important for facility users and their families and others. View source
On January 31, 2023, the Elderly Support Division of the Elderly Health Bureau of Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and other departments jointly issued an administrative notice, releasing videos and leaflets for staff on restarting and promoting visits at elderly facilities and similar settings. View source
On November 24, 2021, the Tuberculosis and Infectious Diseases Division of the Health Bureau of Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and other departments jointly issued an administrative notice explaining points to note when conducting visits at social welfare facilities and similar. View source
For older people and families
Visits are very important for both older people and their families; do not easily give up the chance to meet.
Before visiting a nursing home, first ask clearly about the facility's visitation rules, and cooperate with booking and registration.
If meeting in person is not possible for now, ask whether there are video calls or ways to have items delivered on your behalf.
During visits, follow the facility's requirements for hand hygiene, wearing masks, and keeping distance.
If you encounter difficulties with visiting, discuss calmly with the facility and work together to find a solution.
Japanese officials specifically prepared visit guidance materials for staff, showing that visits deserve careful preparation.
Older people feel at ease when they see their family, and the care of family members is also part of caregiving.
See what care and community teams can do
Facilities may refer to Japanese practices, develop visitation procedures suited to their own organisation, and inform families in advance.
It is recommended to provide staff with training on guiding visits, unify operating standards, and reduce on-site confusion.
Facilities may collect problems encountered and improvement examples from actual visits for internal communication.
Arranging visits should consider basic conditions such as ventilation, disinfection, and time-slot flow control; specific methods should follow the requirements of local competent authorities.
Plan the visitation space and service routes according to the facility's building conditions, and ask professionals to verify when necessary.
Respect older people's wishes; do not add psychological burden to them because of visitation arrangements.
Simple explanatory materials may be prepared to help families understand the visitation rules.
Materials from other countries are for reference only; implementation must combine local laws and regulations, facility conditions, and epidemic prevention requirements.
What needs local assessment
This article is based solely on the visit-related administrative notices and publicity materials issued by Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Japanese practices and systems do not equal current policies in China; when implementing them, institutions in China should follow the regulations of the local civil affairs and health authorities. This article does not provide the specific contents of the Japanese videos and leaflets, nor does it provide any visit effectiveness, case data, or epidemic prevention parameters. For matters involving renovation of visit areas, disinfection levels, protective measures, etc., please consult professionals and verify according to actual conditions. Source: Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (see the original link). This website adapted and compiled this article based on the original facts; it is not a translation produced, endorsed, or issued by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare; Japan's system is not equivalent to China's system.
Sources
Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and WelfareWas this article helpful?
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