Experiences and expectations of receiving volunteer services among home-based elderly in Chinese urban areas: A qualitative study

Motivations and strategies of voluntary service for urban home-based older adults provided by volunteers with nursing background: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND

With the acceleration of population aging, it becomes increasingly difficult to meet the complex needs of older adults living in communities. Although volunteering is an important resource in addressing the aging crisis, the lack of clear motivations and finely-tuned strategic guidance present obstacles. This study aims to understand the motivations and strategies involved in voluntary service for urban home-based older adults provided by volunteers with a nursing background.

METHODS

A qualitative descriptive design was adopted. Twenty-three volunteers with nursing background were recruited using purposive and maximum variation sampling. Data analysis followed directed content analysis.

RESULTS

Two themes highlighted the motivation to participate: (1) external motivation and (2) internal motivation. Another five themes described the strategies applied: (1) maintaining belief, (2) knowing, (3) being with, (4) doing for, and (5) enabling.

CONCLUSIONS

The study identified the initial motivations of volunteers with nursing backgrounds to participate in community-based services for older adults, along with a range of effective strategies they use. The key findings of the study offer valuable insights for volunteer recruitment and retention, while also providing strong support for improving service quality and ensuring the systematization and effectiveness of services.

Caring perception questionnaire of the home-dwelling elderly: development and validation study

BACKGROUND

The care requirements of the elderly who live at home should receive enough attention as the world's population ages. On the basis of this, a questionnaire on the elderly who live at home must be created and validated.

OBJECTIVE

The objective is to create and validate a tool that will allow caregivers to more accurately measure how well-cared-for elderly people perceive them to be at home.

METHODS

This study developed a caring perception questionnaire through literature review and interviews in Wuhan. Fifteen experts from six provinces reviewed the initial 43-item draft. When faulty questionnaires were eliminated, the valid sample size for the exploratory factor analysis of the first survey was 238. For confirmatory factor analysis, the second survey's valid sample size was 260. The final version included 31 items, validated for reliability and validity.

RESULTS

A 52-item questionnaire was created based on interviews, refined to 43 items after expert feedback, with a content validity index of 0.88. The first survey (238 valid responses) showed a Cronbach's α of 0.945, and the second (260 valid responses) confirmed good model fit and consistency. The final version has 31 items.

CONCLUSIONS

With good reliability and validity, the caring perception questionnaire of the home-dwelling elderly was developed, which could be used as a tool to evaluate the current situation of humanistic care for the home-dwelling elderly.

Effect of Inter-Generational Living Arrangement and Digital Exclusion on Unmet Healthcare Needs Among Older Adults: Findings From Two National Cohort Studies

AIM

To analyse how refined living arrangements, in the context of digital access, affect elderly healthcare resource utilisation and satisfaction with healthcare needs.

DESIGN

A prospective cohort study. The study reporting is conformed to the STROBE checklist.

DATA SOURCES

This longitudinal study utilised data from the 2018-2020 waves of the United States-based Health and Retirement Study and the 2013-2015 waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study.

METHODS

Baseline living arrangement was categorised into living alone, intergenerational living, living with spouse, nuclear living and proximate residence. Unmet healthcare needs at follow-up waves (i.e., 2020 wave of Health and Retirement Study and 2015 wave of China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study) were classified into unmet clinical care needs and unmet preventive care needs, which were measured using three measurements on whether the participant had disorders, whether the participants use any clinical care, and whether the participants use any preventive care. Digital exclusion was assessed using a single question about internet access at baseline.

RESULTS

A total of 7116 participants from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study cohort (female: 48.6%, mean age: 57.4 years) and 7266 from the Health and Retirement Study cohort (female: 64.9%, mean age: 65.1 years) were included. Compared with older adults living a nuclear arrangement, those living an inter-generational arrangement with digital exclusion had higher clinical care utilisation, but not necessarily lower risk of unmet clinical needs; they also had lower preventive care utilisation in the Health and Retirement Study cohort, while living with spouse led to higher preventive care utilisation in the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study cohort.

CONCLUSION

Living arrangements can affect older adults' healthcare utilisation and unmet healthcare needs, which can be moderated by digital exposure.

IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION AND/OR PATIENT CARE

These findings suggest that healthcare providers should tailor care strategies by considering both living situations and digital literacy. Enhancing digital access, especially for those in inter-generational households, could help address unmet healthcare needs and improve overall care satisfaction.

REPORTING METHOD

This study using the STROBE CHECKLIST for reporting guideline.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

No patient or public contribution. WHAT DOES THIS PAPER CONTRIBUTE TO THE WIDER GLOBAL CLINICAL COMMUNITY: By comparing data from both the United States and China, it highlights the importance of considering family structure and digital inclusion when addressing healthcare needs globally. The findings suggest that older adults in inter-generational living arrangements without digital access face higher clinical care demands but still struggle with unmet healthcare needs. This underscores the need for healthcare systems worldwide to address digital exclusion and adapt care strategies to individual living circumstances to enhance healthcare outcomes for the elderly population.

Evaluating community-embedded elder care: A case study of supply and demand in Hangzhou, China

INTRODUCTION

With China's urbanization and demographic shifts significantly affecting elder care, this study examines the alignment of community-based elder care services in Hangzhou's Hemu Community. It addresses the gap in understanding how these services meet the needs of an aging population in a rapidly changing social context.

METHODS

A comprehensive mixed-methods approach was utilized, involving interviews with community residents, observations of elder care service operations and thorough document analysis. The objective was to evaluate the adequacy, utilization and satisfaction levels concerning these elder care services.

RESULTS

The research identified that, although the services generally meet the community's needs, there are notable challenges in content specificity, quality assurance and promotional efforts. These challenges lead to resistance among older adults. Additionally, issues with service visibility and the lack of robust feedback mechanisms were noted.

CONCLUSION

This study highlights the critical need for a cooperative strategy involving government, community organizations, social entities and businesses in enhancing elder care services. It suggests that improvements in service visibility, content quality and targeted promotion are crucial to address the evolving needs of the aging population and to reduce reluctance in service utilization.

Community-dwelling older adults' perspectives on health risks: a qualitative study exploring anxieties, priorities, and expectations in ageing

BACKGROUND

With the conflict between the promise of ageing in health and longevity and the limited availability of health resources and social support, older adults in China inevitably experience anxieties surrounding health risks. This study aims to investigate how older adults perceive the health risks that come with getting older, explore the degree to which health risks affect older adults, and advocate for active engagement in practices for managing health risks.

METHODS

Using purposive sampling, three districts of Beijing (Xicheng District, Fengtai District, and Daxing District, respectively) were selected for the research. Qualitative semi-structured and in-depth interviews were conducted with 70 community-dwelling older adults who participated in the study. Data were extracted and analyzed based on a thematic framework approach.

RESULTS

Three main themes were identified: (i) the anxieties of older adults concerning health risks in ageing; (ii) the priorities of older adults for health risk management in ageing; (iii) the expectations of older adults for health risk management in ageing. The primary health concerns among older adults included disease incidence and function decline. It was found that basic health management emerged as a critical need for older adults to mitigate health risks. Moreover, it was observed that healthcare support for older adults from familial, institutional, and governmental levels exhibited varying degrees of inadequacy.

CONCLUSIONS

The primary source of anxieties among older adults regarding health risks predominantly stems from a perceived sense of health deprivation. It is often compounded by persistent barriers to primary care of priorities in managing health risks among older adults. In addition, the expectations of older adults for health risk management emphasize the necessity for integrated care approaches. Therefore, further research should give priority to the prevention and management of health risks, aim to reduce anxieties, provide integrated care to meet the primary needs and expectations of older adults, and ultimately strive toward the overarching goal of promoting health and longevity.

The experiences and needs of older adults receiving voluntary services in Chinese nursing home organizations: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Older adults living in nursing home organizations are eager to get voluntary help, however, their past experiences with voluntary services are not satisfactory enough. To better carry out voluntary services and improve the effectiveness of services, it is necessary to have a deeper understanding of the experiences and needs of older adults for voluntary services.

METHODS

The purposive sampling method was used to select 14 older adults from two nursing home organizations in Hangzhou and conduct semi-structured interviews, Collaizzi's seven-step method was used to analyze the data.

RESULTS

Older adults in nursing home organizations have both beneficial experiences and unpleasant service experiences in the process of receiving voluntary services; Beneficial experiences include solving problems meeting needs and feeling warmth and care, while unpleasant service experiences include the formality that makes it difficult to benefit truly, lack of organization, regularity, sustainability, and the mismatch between service provision and actual demands. The needs for voluntary services mainly focuses on emotional comfort, Cultural and recreational, and knowledge acquisition.

CONCLUSION

Older adults in nursing home organizations have varied voluntary experiences, and their voluntary service needs are diversified. Voluntary service needs of older adults should be accurately assessed, and voluntary service activities should be focused upon.

Scope and inclination of voluntary service for urban community-living older adults provided by volunteers with nursing background: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND

With the growing challenge of an aging population, addressing the needs of elderly individuals who face living difficulties and lack family support becomes increasingly difficult. Volunteer services are crucial in this context, yet their effectiveness is hindered by unclear service scopes and uncertain volunteer inclinations.

AIM

To explore the role and specific preference of volunteers with nursing backgrounds in support of older adults living in the urban community. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A descriptive qualitative study was conducted between September and October 2022. Twenty-three participants (hospital nurses [10], community nurses [4], nursing teachers [4] and nursing students [5]) were selected. Data analysis followed conventional content analysis.

RESULTS

Nine major themes were identified based on interview data. Four themes described the service scope of nursing volunteers: (1) environment domain, (2) physiological domain, (3) psychosocial domain and (4) health-related behaviours domain. Another five themes highlighted the service inclination of these volunteers: (1) service frequency, (2) service duration per person/time, (3) service coverage, (4) service place and (5) service object.

CONCLUSION

This study clarifies the service focus and scope of necessary support for volunteers, exploring the potential service capabilities of scarce volunteers to the greatest extent. Meanwhile, the results of this study also provide a foundation for stakeholders to fully exploit the synergy. The important findings of this study will help the government and relevant authorities better understand the service attributes of nursing volunteers, allowing them to develop detailed training plans and provide nursing volunteers with targeted support and assistance to meet the health expectations of urban community-living older adults in need.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

Developing research questions, participation and conduct and provision and interpretation of evidence.

An analysis of the influencing factors of depression in older adults under the home care model

Objectives

To explore and analyze the influencing factors of depression in older adults living at home, so as to propose suggestions for improving the quality of older adults living at home.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional study on 498 older adults living at home based on questionnaire survey on the general information, daily living ability, health status, and care perception (including self-care, care for cohabitants, and care for non-cohabitants) of older adults living at home, as well as their willingness to help each other, and analyzed the influencing factors of depression among older adults living at home.

Results

The results showed a willingness to help older adults, self-care, and total activities of daily living (ADL), health status was an influential factor for depression in older adults (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

It aims to take targeted measures, such as encouraging older adults at home to actively participate in mutual assistance activities for older adults and care for themselves, so as to prevent and reduce the occurrence of depression in older adults.

Factors associated with the perceived need for assistance from voluntary services in home-based older adults in Chinese urban areas: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

With China's rapidly aging population, meeting the diverse care needs of senior citizens is becoming more challenging. Although voluntary social services have numerous advantages and are popular among older adults, there is little information on the need for assistance from volunteer-based social services, particularly those with a medical background, and influencing factors among urban home-based older adults. This study aimed to assess the need for assistance from voluntary services and related factors among urban home-based older adults in China.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2022 on communities in four cities in China. The 27-item Home-Based Older Adults Assistance Need Scale was used to measure the assistance needs of 498 participants aged 60 and above. Multiple linear regression models were conducted to identify salient variables associated with the need for assistance from voluntary services.

RESULTS

The mean score of the need for assistance from voluntary services was 88.60 ± 24.37. The mean scores of the items examining four dimensions, namely, health maintenance, visiting communication, social intercourse, and daily life, were 3.64 ± 1.08, 3.49 ± 1.04, 3.33 ± 1.08, and 2.78 ± 1.08, respectively. The level of depression, willingness to assist older adults, attaching importance to health preservation, ability to self-comfort, desire to accept assistance from others, and the presence of more children or none at all were all positively correlated with the perceived need for assistance from voluntary services. In contrast, social care obtained from visiting medical institutions was negatively correlated. These seven factors explained 28.5% of the total variance.

CONCLUSIONS

Urban home-based older adults in China were found to have significant requirements for assistance from volunteer services, and several complex factors were associated with more significant assistance needs. These findings may encourage the extremely limited numbers of social volunteers, particularly those with a medical background, to identify priorities in providing assistance services to the large numbers of urban home-based older adults and thus improve service delivery.