scholarly journals The Paradox of Political Accountability and Deficits in the Preconditions for Service Delivery in Elderly Care: A Qualitative Study of Swedish Politicians

Author(s):  
Susann Porter ◽  
Tuija Muhonen

The aims of this qualitative grounded theory study were to explore how politicians accountable for Swedish elderly care viewed their assignment, their beliefs and knowledge regarding the psychosocial work environment for elderly care employees, the factors affecting their work environment, and how these politicians regarded elderly care during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study consisted of 41 interviews with politicians in municipalities across Sweden. Three categories emerged from the analysis: (1) interpretation of the assignment directs the focus; (2) recognizing shortfalls in the employees’ work environment; and (3) exposing deficiencies due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The strongest category was identified as interpretation of the assignment directs the focus and was described as the delivery of good and quality care. Nevertheless, this study highlights shortfalls in the delivery of care services where the employees’ work environment, especially in the home care sector, was frequently described as stressful. The COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected the work situation for staff in elderly care. In that setting, staff shortage and lack of competency were common. Nurses were particularly affected by high workload and responsibility. Further research should explore civil servant roles in the elderly care sector and how these actors view their collaboration with municipality politicians.

2021 ◽  
Vol 275 ◽  
pp. 03003
Author(s):  
Yi Ding ◽  
Zhe Zhang ◽  
Meiyun Yang ◽  
Fengqi Sun

This research focuses on a service acquisition mode for parents in urban separated families of China to promote the popularization of elderly care services in Internet economy. Based on interviews and questionnaires, authors find the pain point of the elderly care service acquisition mode and propose a tripartite participatory mode. Using this new service acquisition mode, adult children can play an assistant role with a smartphone-based service purchase platform. Next, in order to determine what services should be provided priorly on the platform, an empirical study based on questionnaires and KANO model is carried out to screen a propriate services items. Through the innovation of new elderly care service acquisition mode, more practitioners are supposed to expands their business effectively in aging market, and to play an ever more active role in the growth of Internet economy.


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katja Tähtinen ◽  
Sanna Lappalainen ◽  
Kirsi Karvala ◽  
Marjaana Lahtinen ◽  
Heidi Salonen

Indoor air problems are complicated and need to be approached from many perspectives. In this research, we studied the association of four-level categorisation of the probability of abnormal indoor air (IA) exposure with the work environment-related symptoms, group-level health information and psychosocial work environment of employees. We also evaluated the multiprofessional IA group assessment of the current indoor air quality (IAQ) of the hospital premises. We found no statistical association between the four-level categorisation of the probability of abnormal IA exposure and the employees’ perceived symptoms, health information, and perceived psychosocial work environment. However, the results showed a statistical association between perceived symptoms and man-made vitreous fibre sources in ventilation. Furthermore, extensive impurity sources in the premises increased the employees’ contact with health services and their perceived symptoms. The employees perceived stress and symptoms in all categories of abnormal IA exposure, which may be related to IAQ or other factors affecting human experience. Prolonged process management may influence users’ experiences of IAQ. The results suggest that an extensive impurity source in premises does not always associate with the prevalence of perceived symptoms. We conclude that indoor air questionnaires alone cannot determine the urgency of the measures required.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Filzah Md Isa ◽  
Shaista Noor ◽  
Goh Wei Wei ◽  
Sharifah Diyana Binti Syed Hussain ◽  
Hairunnisa Mohamad Ibrahim ◽  
...  

Purpose Malaysia is considered to be a relatively young country as compared to other older countries such as Japan, China and Australia in terms of the ageing population. However, until 2035, Malaysia will be in the ageing group countries as 15% of the entire population will be above 60 years of age. This situation is quite alarming as more and more ageing care centres will be required to fulfill the ongoing demands of the ageing population. The elderly care centres in Malaysia are categorised as public (sponsored by the government), private, and charity based that comes under religious centres. Currently, there are about 365 registered elderly care centres working in the main states of Malaysia, including Sabah and Sarawak, two states of the East Malaysia. Due to the importance of ageing population issues, the present study is conducted to explore the demographics facet of Malaysian’s elderly care centres. The main reason behind that lies on the fact that many of these centres are still labelled as being not well equipped and lacking behind in trained staff, equipment and also suffering from severe financial constraints but some still capable of working on a sustainability basis. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative Research Strategy has been adopted, and 28 centres throughout Malaysia are included in this study. About 18 Operators from different centres and 15 caregivers were interviewed to get the holistic view of ageing care and facilities in their respective centres. Findings The results highlight that the majority of centres are not receiving any financial help from the government, and few centres are doing small business such as supplying consumable medical and non-medical items and providing renting and rehabilitation centres facilities to sustain. The caregivers are facing issues such as excess workload, less salary, peer conflicts and non-cooperative centre leadership. Originality/value The present study may help to provide useful information to the policymakers, which enables them to formulate the strategies for ageing care centres in Malaysia. As this study provides insight of components that have an impact on the overall wellbeing of elderly care centres, hence, it could help the care services providers to act as a rising star for Malaysian’s social life comfort.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 139-145
Author(s):  
Mengna Li ◽  
Liyun Wu

In order to solve the problem of imbalance resource allocation and service income in the elderly care service industry, this article establishes three service income models in different situations for a single provider and a single integrator while considering the quality as well as government subsidies. The results showed that government subsidies can significantly improve quality efforts and service income with a mutual restriction between quality and service income. Government subsidies would have an impact on the quality, and they are more conducive to the service income of providers. When government subsidies are less than 80% of the service income, the incentive effect is better.


Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (18) ◽  
pp. 6051
Author(s):  
Daniel Fuentes ◽  
Luís Correia ◽  
Nuno Costa ◽  
Arsénio Reis ◽  
José Ribeiro ◽  
...  

The Portuguese population is aging at an increasing rate, which introduces new problems, particularly in rural areas, where the population is small and widely spread throughout the territory. These people, mostly elderly, have low income and are often isolated and socially excluded. This work researches and proposes an affordable Ambient Assisted Living (AAL)-based solution to monitor the activities of elderly individuals, inside their homes, in a pervasive and non-intrusive way, while preserving their privacy. The solution uses a set of low-cost IoT sensor devices, computer vision algorithms and reasoning rules, to acquire data and recognize the activities performed by a subject inside a home. A conceptual architecture and a functional prototype were developed, the prototype being successfully tested in an environment similar to a real case scenario. The system and the underlying concept can be used as a building block for remote and distributed elderly care services, in which the elderly live autonomously in their homes, but have the attention of a caregiver when needed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 233 ◽  
pp. 01168
Author(s):  
Aijia Song ◽  
Zhaoqi Peng

2020-2050 is a period of rapid development of China's population aging, and it is also a critical period for the country to actively respond to population aging. Under the background of the combination of medical care and nursing, institutional elderly care services, as an important branch of the multi-level elderly care service system, have become the main battlefield of the integrated medical and elderly care policy. Therefore, institutional care talents for the aged have also become a key link in improving the quality of life of the elderly population. This paper using trend extrapolation model to predict the needs of elderly care talents in institutions in Beijing, including nursing staff who provide basic living care and professional medical staff who provide services such as rehabilitation, medical treatment, nutrition, and psychological consultation. The results show that, in 2050, the demand for institutional elderly nursing staff in Beijing will exceed 150,000, and the demand for institutional elderly medical staff will reach about 20,000.


2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iwona Sobis

Abstract Reforms of the public sector, conducted in the spirit of NPM since the 1990s, are frequently studied by Western and Eastern scholars. The research shows national variations in how the NPM idea was translated and adapted into a country’s context and regulations. Care for the elderly is an interesting example of reforms conducted in the spirit of NPM, because it relates to welfare and health care and to the competences of provincial and local authorities in most European countries. This paper addresses the following questions: What do we know about the reforms conducted in the spirit of NPM and its practical implication within the field of care for the elderly during 1990 - 2010? What kind of knowledge about care for the elderly is still missing and should be developed in the future ? Th is paper conducts comparative research on what is known about the effects of the Swedish and the Polish reforms regarding care for the elderly. It argues that most literature points to negative effects, but also to the fact that there are still gaps in our knowledge about the effects of reforms concerning elderly care, especially regarding its organization. Hence, despite all the research done, we do not know what kind of social and health-care services for seniors represent the best practices for the future.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 2297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thais A. Baldissera ◽  
Luis M. Camarinha-Matos

Current demographic trends suggest that people are living longer, while the ageing process entails many necessities calling for care services tailored to the individual senior’s needs and life style. Personalized provision of care services usually involves a number of stakeholders, including relatives, friends, caregivers, professional assistance organizations, enterprises, and other support entities. Traditional Information and Communication Technology (ICT) based care and assistance services for the elderly have been mainly focused on the development of isolated and generic services, considering a single service provider, and excessively featuring a techno-centric approach. In contrast, advances on collaborative networks for elderly care suggest the integration of services from multiple providers, encouraging collaboration as a way to provide better personalized services. This approach requires a support system to manage the personalization process and allow ranking the {service, provider} pairs. In accordance with these requirements, an Elderly Care Ecosystem (ECE) framework and a Service Composition and Personalization Environment (SCoPE) are proposed. ECE provides the context for the personalization method which is based on the match between a taxonomy of care needs and the {service, provider} pairs, and the calculation of a service adherence index to identify suitable services and corresponding providers. To demonstrate the feasibility and applicability of SCoPE, a number of methods and algorithms are presented. Furthermore, an illustrative scenario is introduced in which {service, provider} pairs are ranked based on multidimensional assessment method and composition strategies are based on customer’s profile and requirements.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 1469-1479
Author(s):  
Zhang Zehao ◽  
Wang Xinting ◽  
Xie Linling

Objectives: Studies show that the harm of smoking is much higher in the elderly than in the young and middle-aged. Therefore, smoke-free communities are more suitable for the elderly. China’s ministry of civil affairs pointed out that, the development of community elderly care services conforms to the wishes of over 90% of the elderly in China, which is the focus of the construction of China’s elderly care service system. Meanwhile, China’s existing smoke-free community elderly care service models are diverse, service efficiency and sustainability remains uneven. Methods: This study constructed a conceptual framework for smoke-free community elderly care service based on the theory of welfare pluralism. To find the sustainability of smoking control in smoke-free communities and the efficiency of elderly care service supply under different supply modes. According to the geographical location, 9somke-free communities in Beijing, Nanjing and Xi’an were selected for investigation. Results: Three supply modes of community-based elderly care services are summarized, including Multiactor Participation Model (MPM), Government and Social organization Cooperation Model (GSCM), and Government-led Participation Model (GPM). The case analysis method is used to analyze the characteristics of the supply actors, supply content, and supply methods of these three models. Conclusion: Three supply modes of community-based elderly care services are summarized, including Multiactor Participation Model (MPM), Government and Social organization Cooperation Model (GSCM), and Government-led Participation Model (GPM). The MPM for smoke-free community elderly care, which includes the participation of multiple subjects and is more diversified in terms of supply content and methods, is found to have better smoking control efficiency and higher sustainability.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document