Evaluating the Ten-Year Long-Term Care Program from thePerspectives of Families with Long-Term Care Needs : AnExample of Kaohsiung City

• Main Authors: Shu-Wei Yang, 楊淑為
• Other Authors: San-Pui Lam
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2016
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/ha5pnv

碩士 === 國立中山大學 === 公共事務管理研究所 === 104 === The current study, adopting a qualitative research approach, probed into families requiring long-term care in Kaohsiung, aiming to explore users’ challenges, needs, experiences, evaluations of services, and expectation of related services in the care process. Furthermore, the study interviewed intermediary units (such as the head of a village or home care service units) and governmental units (Kaohsiung City Government Senior Citizen''s Service Center and Department of Health, Kaohsiung City Government), examining their perspectives about controversies over the long-term care policy, effects of the Ten-Year Long-term Care Program, and future development of long-term care policies. The results revealed that the most common challenge that families requiring long-term care faced was insufficient understanding of the long-term care related information, resulting in confusion about the contact window in the government and inadequate skills to take care of the disabled in the care process. Whether a family chose self-care or hired a foreign caretaker, a transition period during which the disabled was not assisted easily emerged between applying for the service and receiving the given service Moreover, in terms of user experiences and general conditions of long-term care services, the diverse Ten-Year Long-term Care Program did provide certain benefits to those families in need. However, limitations on services led the public to apply for short-term services, rather than for long-term care services provided by the government. The time of home care service provided was insufficient for those families to effectively solving the problem of caring capacity. The evaluation of in-home nursing care was generally higher, capable of not only reducing the patients’ burden of moving back and forth but also saving caretakers’ time and energy. The pick-up service that was based on registered residence disqualified the seniors who actually lived in Kaohsiung (without registration) from applying transportation service. In addition, unclear cost information of the pick-up service resulted in misunderstanding and disputes of cost sharing when carpooling. There was also an insufficient connection between user families and the companies that provided assistive devices, leading to limited improvement in the physical environment of user families. Finally, in terms of financing in the system, options on taxes, insurances, and cash payments differed with the applicants’ economic status and disability status. With regard to the working conditions of home caregivers, the low salary and working hours of the job were not able to meet their basic needs. The uneven male-female ratio and the lack of unified regulation among organizations were also issues of concern. Based on the aforementioned stakeholders’ perspectives and careful examination of previous research, the current study provides Kaohsiung City Government with suggestions for further promotion of long-term care. In addition, the study’s attempt to investigate into Kaohsiung City serves as an example for future research into long-term care.