Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-21T14:45:20.692Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Where Would You Turn for Help? Older Adults' Awareness of Community Support Services*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2010

M. Denton ,
J. Ploeg ,
J. Tindale ,
B. Hutchison ,
K. Brazil ,
N. Akhtar-Danesh ,
M. Quinlan ,
J. Lillie ,
J. Millen Plenderleith  and
L. Boos
M. Denton*
Affiliation:
Department of Health, Aging and Society, McMaster University Department of Sociology, McMaster University McMaster Centre for Gerontological Studies
J. Ploeg
Affiliation:
Department of Health, Aging and Society, McMaster University School of Nursing, McMaster University
J. Tindale
Affiliation:
Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition, University of Guelph
B. Hutchison
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University Department of Family Medicine, McMaster University Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis, McMaster University
K. Brazil
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University
N. Akhtar-Danesh
Affiliation:
School of Nursing, McMaster University
M. Quinlan
Affiliation:
United Way of Burlington and Greater Hamilton
J. Lillie
Affiliation:
Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition, University of Guelph
J. Millen Plenderleith
Affiliation:
McMaster Centre for Gerontological Studies
L. Boos
Affiliation:
McMaster Centre for Gerontological Studies
*
Requests for offprints should be sent to:/Les demandes de tirés-à-part doivent être adressées à: Dr. Margaret Denton, Director, McMaster Centre for Gerontological Studies. Professor, Department of Health, Aging and Society and Department of Sociology, McMaster University, KTH 226, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8P 4M4, (mdenton@mcmaster.ca)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Previous findings on older adults' awareness of community support services (CSSs) have been inconsistent and marred by acquiescence or over-claiming bias. To address this issue, this study used a series of 12 vignettes to describe common situations faced by older adults for which CSSs might be appropriate. In telephone interviews, 1,152 adults aged 50 years and over were read a series of vignettes and asked if they were able to identify a community organization or agency that they may turn to in that situation. They were also asked about their most important sources of information about CSSs. The findings show that, using a vignette methodology, awareness of CSSs is much lower than previously thought. The most important sources of information about CSSs included information and referral sources, the telephone book, doctors' offices, and word of mouth.

Résumé

Les résultats précédents visant la sensibilisation des aînés aux services de soutien communautaires ne s'accordent pas et sont gâchés par l'acquiescence ou des allégations de partialité. Cela étant, la présente étude a utilisé une série de 12 scénarios pour décrire des situations courantes dans lesquelles se retrouvent les aînés pour qui des services de soutien communautaires seraient appropriés. Lors d'une entrevue téléphonique, nous avons lu à 1152 adultes âgés de 50 et plus une série de scénarios et nous leur avons demandé s'ils pouvaient indiquer un organisme communautaire vers lequel ils pourraient se tourner dans cette situation précise. Nous leur avons aussi interrogés sur leurs plus importantes sources de renseignements en matière de services de soutien communautaires. Les résultats indiquent que, si l'on a recours à une méthodologie par scénarios, la sensibilisation aux services de soutien communautaires était beaucoup plus faible qu'on ne l'avait d'abord pensé. Les plus importantes sources de renseignements sur les services de soutien communautaires comprenaient des sources de référence et des renseignements, l'annuaire téléphonique, les bureaux de médecins, et le bouche-à-oreille.

Keywords

vieillissementservices de soutien communautairessensibilisationconnaissancepartialitéméthodologie par scénariosagingcommunity support servicesawarenessknowledgeacquiescence biasvignette methodology
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 27 , Issue 4 , Winter/Hiver 2008 , pp. 359 - 370
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

The authors would like to thank the following organizations and their employees for the valuable contributions that they made in the development and analysis of this research: Catholic Family Services of Hamilton, Linda Dayler; Coalition of Community Health and Support Services, Lynne Edwards; Community Information Hamilton, Lesley Russell; Seniors Activation Maintenance Program, Lynne Edwards and Dave Banko; Grocer-Ease, Bev Morgan; Hamilton Community Care Access Centre, Sherry Parsley, Tom Peirce, and Dianne Thompson; Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA), Susan Thorning and Taru Virkamaki; Regional Geriatric Program (Central), David Jewell; Social Planning and Research Council of Hamilton (SPRC), Don Jaffray; United Way of Burlington and Greater Hamilton, Monica Quinlan.

This research was funded by the following organizations: Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Aging, Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-term Care, United Way of Burlington and Greater Hamilton, and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council through funding of the Major Collaborative Research Initiatives (MCRI) (Socio-economic Dimensions of an Aging Population).

References

Benedito, C., & Wister, A. (2005). From cues to action: Information seeking and exercise self-care among older adults managing chronic illness. Canadian Journal on Aging, 24(4), 395–408.Google Scholar
Calsyn, R.J., Burger, G.K., & Roades, L. (1996). Cross-validation of differences between users and non-users of senior centres. Journal of Social Service Research, 21(3), 39–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Calsyn, R.J., Kelemen, W.L., Jones, T., & Winter, J.P. (2001). Reducing over-claiming in needs assessment studies: An experimental comparison. Evaluation Review, 25(6), 583–604.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Calsyn, R.J., & Roades, L.A. (1993). Predicting perceived service need, service awareness, and service utilization. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 21(1/2), 59–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Calsyn, R.J., Roades, L.A., & Calsyn, D.S. (1992). Acquiescence in needs assessment studies of the elderly. Gerontologist, 32(2), 246–52.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Calsyn, R., Roades, L.A., & Klinkenberg, W.D. (1998). Using theory to design needs assessment studies of the elderly. Evaluation and Programming Planning, 21(3), 277–286.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Calsyn, R.J., & Winter, J.P. (1999a). Predicting specific service awareness dimensions. Research On Aging, 21(6), 762–780.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Calsyn, R.J., & Winter, J.P. (1999b). Understanding and controlling response bias in needs assessment studies. Evaluation Review, 23(4), 399–417.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Calsyn, R.J., & Winter, J.P. (2000). Predicting different types of service use by the elderly: The strength of the behavioral model and the value of interaction terms. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 19(3), 284–303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chapleski, E.E. (1989). Determinants of knowledge of services to the elderly: Are strong ties enabling or inhibiting. Gerontologist, 29(4), 539–545.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chappell, N., McDonald, L., & Stones, M. (2008). Aging in contemporary Canada. (2nd ed., p. 230). Toronto: Pearson Education Canada.Google Scholar
Cherry, R. (2002). Who uses service directories? Extending the behavioral model to information use by older people. Research On Aging, 24(5), 548–574.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coulton, C., & Frost, A.K. (1982). Use of social and health services by the elderly. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 23(4), 330–339.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Denton, M. (1997). The linkages between informal and formal care of the elderly. Canadian Journal on Aging, 16(1), 17–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ehrlich, N.J., Carlson, D., & Bailey, N. (2003). Sources of information about how to obtain assistive technology: Findings from a national survey of persons with disabilities. Assistive Technology, 15(1), 28–38.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Feldman, P.H., Oberlink, M.R., Simantov, E., & Gursen, M.D. (2004). A tale of two older Americas: Community opportunities and challenges. AdvantAge initiative: 2003 national survey of adults aged 65 and older. New York, NY: Center for Home Care Policy and Research. Retrieved 13 Dec. 2008 from http://www.vnsny.org/advantage/AI_NationalSurveyReport.pdf.Google Scholar
Fortinsky, R.H. (1998). How linked are physicians to community support services for their patients with dementia? Journal of Applied Gerontology, 17(4), 480–498.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodman, I.R. (1992). The selection of communication channels by the elderly to obtain information. Educational Gerontology, 18(7), 701–714.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henninger, J.L., Henninger, W.B., Morse, C.K., & Zweigenhaft, R.L. (1986). Physicians' awareness of services for the elderly. Gerontology & Geriatrics Education, 7(2), 21–28.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hughes, R., & Huby, M. (2002). The application of vignettes in social and nursing research. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 37(4), 382–386.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Krout, J.A. (1985). Service awareness among the elderly. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 9(1), 7–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kushman, J.E., & Freeman, B.K. (1986). Service consciousness and service knowledge among older Americans. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 23(3), 217–237.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lillie, J. (2008). Older adults' knowledge of community support services: Does social support make a difference. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada.Google Scholar
Moon, A., & Evans-Campbell, T. (1999). Awareness of formal and informal sources of help for victims of elder abuse among Korean American and Caucasian elders in Los Angeles. Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect, 11(3), 1–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Salvage, A.V., Jones, D.A., & Vetter, N.J. (1988). Awareness of and satisfaction with community services in a random sample of over 75s. Health Trends, 20(3), 88–92.Google Scholar
Schoenberg, N.E., & Ravdal, H. (2000). Using vignettes in awareness and attitudinal research. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 3(1), 63–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sherman, S., Ward, R.A., & LaGory, M. (1984). Higher education and peer socialization: A promising partnership. Gerontology & Geriatrics Education, 4(3), 15–21.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Silverstein, N.M. (1984). Informing the elderly about public services: The relationship between sources of knowledge and service utilization. Gerontologist, 24(1), 37–40.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Snider, E.L. (1980a). Awareness and use of health services by the elderly. Medical Care, 18(12), 1177–1182.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Snider, E.L. (1980b). Factors influencing health service knowledge among the elderly. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 21, 371–377.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spalding, N.J., & Phillips, T. (2007). Exploring the use of vignettes: From validity to trustworthiness. Qualitative Health Research, 17(7), 954–962.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Statistics Canada (2001a). Age and sex: Highlight tables, 2001 Census. Retrieved 14 Dec. 2007 from http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/highlight/AgeSex/HighlightsTables.cfm?Lang=E.Google Scholar
Statistics Canada (2001b). Population and dwelling counts, for Canada and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2001 and 1996 Censuses – 100% data. Retrieved 14 Dec. 2007 from http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/standard/popdwell/Table-CSD-N.cfm?T=1&SR=1&S=3&O=D.Google Scholar
Statistics Canada (2001c). Proportion of foreign-born population, by census metropolitan area (1991 to 2001 Censuses). Retrieved 14 Dec. 2007 from http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/dem047a.htm.Google Scholar
Strain, L., & Blandford, A. (2002). Community-based services for the taking but few takers: Reasons for nonuse. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 21(2), 220–235.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Urquhart, C.J. (1999). Using vignettes to diagnose information seeking strategies: Opportunities and possible problems for information use in studies of health professionals. In Thomas, D., & Wilson, D.K. (Eds.). Exploring the context of information behaviour. Proceedings of the second international conference on information needs, seeking and use in different contexts 1998 (pp. 277–289). London: Taylor Graham.Google Scholar
Ward, R.A., Sherman, S.R., & LaGory, M. (1984). Informal networks and knowledge of services for older persons. Journal of Gerontology, 39(2), 216–223.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
West, G.E., Delisle, M.A., Simard, C., & Drouin, D. (1996). Leisure activities and service knowledge and use among the rural elderly. Journal of Aging and Health, 8(2), 254–279.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wicks, D.A. (2004). Older adults and their information seeking. Behavioral & Social Sciences Librarian, 22(2), 1–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wister, A. (1992). Residential attitudes and knowledge, use, and future use of home support agencies. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 11(1), 84–100.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed