The Roles and Interactions between Service Providers in the Provision of Home Outreach Supporting Services for Elderly: A Case Study

Abstract

The elderly population account for 10.65% of the total population in Taiwan (Ministry of the Interior in Taiwan, 2009). The increasing number of older people could be seen as a triumph for modem living standards, but this can cause new problems which will become a focal point for both the public sector and non-profit welfare agencies. Also, some of the organizations are not able to commit themselves to community care services and can not coordinate with others. Therefore, collaboration in the provision of community care services in Taiwan has become an important issue. This case study took one welfare agency in a rural mountain area where most of the clients are indigenous older people. Three major home outreach services for the elderly are provided, including homecare service, meals-on-wheels and emergency notifyication service, as an example to explore the perspectives on care services from different professionals and members of staff and the situations of working together. The opinions on improving the current situations these service providers face in the delivery of care services for older people and the essential elements for working together are the important section to research. This research found that some factors influenced the understanding and interation among members of staff positivly, including workspace arrangement, support by joint meetings and supervision, informal interaction, and acquiring skills and knoweldge by training. However, heavy job load and conflicts among some staff impacted on their coordination and service delivery. The service providers also paid attention on the needs of older people casued by the limitations of geography and transportation. Thus, when addressing community care policy and understanding that professions from different fields are all important for older people, the essential implication is to educate these related professionals together so that they understand each other as early as possible in their professional training. It is essential to consider cultural issues and the geography of communities that served.