Family caregivers' viewpoints towards quality of long-term care services for community-dwelling elders in Taiwan

• Published in: Health & social care in the community Vol. 17; no. 3; pp. 312 - 320
• Main Authors: Lee, I., Wang, Hsiu-Hung, Chiou, Chii-Jun, Chang, Su-Hong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.05.2009
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Caregivers; Caregivers - statistics & numerical data; Community Health Services - organization & administration; community-dwelling elder; family caregiver; Family Life; Female; Focus Groups; Health Services Needs and Demand - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Long Term Care; Male; Personal Satisfaction; Qualitative Research; Quality of Health Care; quality of long-term care; Social Perception; Socioeconomic Factors; Surveys and Questionnaires; Taiwan
• ISSN: 0966-0410; 1365-2524
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2524.2009.00842.x

The population of elderly people in Taiwan is increasing rapidly, and long‐term gerontology care has become an important issue in this greying society. The purpose of this study is to explore family caregivers’ viewpoints and opinions regarding the long‐term care services for community‐dwelling older adults in Taiwan. A qualitative study was conducted between August and December of 2005. Fifty family caregivers agreed to participate in this study. Data were collected by focus group interviews, in order to obtain the experience and expectation of family caregivers concerning long‐term care services in their daily lives. Through content analysis and peer discussion, the data were categorized into five major themes: (1) praise for the services; (2) flexibility of long‐term care services; (3) comprehensiveness of long‐term services; (4) linkage and extension of existing resources; and (5) activeness of service provision. Study findings from the family caregivers’ viewpoints should contribute to the improvement of long‐term care services and provide a basis for designing suitable programmes to enhance community‐dwelling in situ elderly people care.