Information sources as determinants of use of formal long-term care: a cross-sectional study in Taiwan.

IF 2.7 3区 医学 Q2 HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES
Yu-Hung Chang, Chia-Hui Hsu, Yu-Chun Tseng, Wan-Chun Yang, Hung-Yi Chiou
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: An ageing population has heightened the need for long-term care (LTC) access. It is not well understood how information sources, both formal and informal, impact the utilisation of LTC. This study aims to investigate the influence of formal and informal sources on the utilisation of LTC services by Taiwanese families employing migrant live-in caregivers.

Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional design and used a structured telephone survey to collect data from 441 registered employers from households employing migrant caregivers. This included 216 families using LTC and 225 not using LTC. We collected data on the characteristics of employers and care recipients, as well as LTC-related information sources. Our formal sources (FS) included government promotional events, LTC community site volunteers, healthcare providers, and local LTC management centres, while informal sources (IS) comprised community leaders, friends and relatives, TV, print media, internet, and patient support groups. We assessed perceived information gaps by asking questions about reasons for not using LTC. We used logistic regressions to analyse the associations of FS and IS with LTC use, employer and care recipient characteristics, and perceived information gaps.

Results: A higher number of FS was positively associated with LTC usage, while an increase in IS was negatively associated. FS and IS were associated with employer socio-demographics such as gender, education level, and care recipient factors, including living arrangements and care needs. FS reduced perceived information gaps, but IS did not.

Conclusions: Information sources significantly influence the use of LTC among families employing migrant caregivers. Our findings suggest that LTC authorities should implement strategies to enhance the accessibility of formal information sources, while also leveraging informal sources more effectively to support accurate and timely LTC decisions for these families and the wider public.

资讯来源是使用正规长期照护的决定因素:台湾的横断面研究。
背景:人口老龄化加剧了对长期护理(LTC)获取的需求。人们还没有很好地理解信息源(包括正式的和非正式的)如何影响LTC的利用。本研究旨在探讨正式与非正式来源对雇用外来住家照顾者的台湾家庭使用LTC服务的影响。方法:本研究采用横断面设计,并采用结构化电话调查,从雇用流动照顾者的家庭中收集441名登记雇主的数据。这包括216个使用LTC和225个不使用LTC的家庭。我们收集了雇主和护理接受者的特征数据,以及ltc相关的信息来源。我们的正式来源(FS)包括政府宣传活动、LTC社区志愿者、医疗保健提供者和当地LTC管理中心,而非正式来源(IS)包括社区领导人、朋友和亲戚、电视、印刷媒体、互联网和患者支持团体。我们通过询问不使用LTC的原因来评估感知到的信息差距。我们使用逻辑回归分析了FS和IS与LTC使用、雇主和护理接受者特征以及感知信息差距的关系。结果:较高的FS数量与LTC使用呈正相关,而IS的增加与LTC使用负相关。FS和IS与雇主社会人口统计学相关,如性别、教育水平和护理接受者因素,包括生活安排和护理需求。FS减少了感知到的信息差距,但IS没有。结论:信息源显著影响了雇佣流动照顾者的家庭对LTC的使用。我们的研究结果表明,LTC当局应实施策略,提高正式信息来源的可及性,同时更有效地利用非正式信息来源,为这些家庭和更广泛的公众提供准确、及时的LTC决策支持。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
BMC Health Services Research
BMC Health Services Research 医学-卫生保健
CiteScore
4.40
自引率
7.10%
发文量
1372
审稿时长
6 months
期刊介绍: BMC Health Services Research is an open access, peer-reviewed journal that considers articles on all aspects of health services research, including delivery of care, management of health services, assessment of healthcare needs, measurement of outcomes, allocation of healthcare resources, evaluation of different health markets and health services organizations, international comparative analysis of health systems, health economics and the impact of health policies and regulations.
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