| Summary: | 碩士 === 臺北醫學大學 === 公共衛生學研究所 === 96 === As the society offers more options regarding long-term care services, and as the general public seeks more autonomy in selecting services, how people choose long-term care services has significant policy implications. The purpose of this research is to assess the prevalence of caregiver preference (cash or service) and to identify relevant factors affecting the decision making.
Data used in the study come from the “National Long-term Care Needs Assessment” study, conducted from 2001 to 2003. Secondary data analysis was conducted on the 9765 caregivers and disabled elderly living together in the community. Caregiver characteristics used in the analysis included socio-demographics, self-rated health, caregiver burden, social support, and care-giving activities. Characteristics of disabled elderly included socio-demographics, functional ability, nursing care needs, and problem behaviors.
The research results showed that 73.6% of caregivers prefer cash while 26.4% prefers services. After controlling for other variables, it showed that older, higher educated, higher income, higher burden (social, emotional, and time), lower social support, male recipient of care, problem behaviours, and nursing care needs were associated with service preference. On the other hand, ethnicity (Fukienese, and aborigines), caregiver who is a daughter to the disabled, more financial burden, and assisting the disabled with bathing were associated with cash preference.
This research shows that personal, social, and care-situation characteristics would affect the choice of caregivers. With appropriate guidelines and monitoring, the government could someday allow the caregivers to choose between services benefits or cash reimbursement in order to meet their own needs. However, there is not a guideline in issuing cash reimbursement for long-term care in Taiwan. Before cash reimbursement can be implemented, more work should be carried to assess the needs and the effects of cash reimbursement.
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