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What are older people and their families looking for in an aged care services provider?
Author(s) -
Parkinson Lynne,
Banbury Annie,
Hillman Wendy,
Lee Julie
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
australasian journal on ageing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.63
H-Index - 34
eISSN - 1741-6612
pISSN - 1440-6381
DOI - 10.1111/ajag.12738
Subject(s) - amenity , autonomy , focus group , aged care , perception , nursing , value (mathematics) , psychology , quality (philosophy) , certainty , gerontology , medicine , business , marketing , political science , finance , epistemology , neuroscience , law , philosophy , machine learning , computer science
Objective Choosing an aged care services provider is a complex decision. This study explored the factors older people and their families consider during this decision‐making process. Methods Four focus groups (two in rural, two in urban Queensland) included older people using and not using aged care services and family members seeking residential aged care services. Results Four themes emerged from the analysis of participants' perspectives, with human needs (such as autonomy, caring, respect, certainty) and organisational values (such as person‐centredness) viewed as most important. Costs, value for money and regulatory considerations were sometimes perceived to be more important than locality. The perceived significance of facilities, services and amenity needs differed according to age and time of life, although a clear pathway to residential aged care facilities from living in the community was desired. Finding information, planning and choosing providers was seen to be hindered by lack of accessible, quality information. Conclusions Meeting human needs (such as autonomy, caring, respect, certainty) through organisational values (such as person‐centredness) is the most desirable factor according to the perceptions of older people and their families when choosing an aged care services provider.