Homeland|Welfare areas
The survey by the Institute of Health and Welfare investigated the satisfaction of home care and round-the-clock assisted living customers.
Fifth of home care customers are dissatisfied with the meal service they receive, according to a survey conducted by the Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare (THL).
However, there were big differences in satisfaction between the welfare areas. The share of unsatisfied customers varied from a good third to just over ten percent. The most dissatisfaction was in the Vantaa and Kerava welfare regions, the least in the Central Ostrobothnia region.
The survey also investigated the satisfaction of 24-hour serviced housing customers with food. The proportion of those who were dissatisfied was lower than home care, 14 percent.
The satisfaction of the customers of 24-hour serviced housing was determined by claiming “I am satisfied with the food”. For home care clients who had meal service, the matter was clarified by claiming “I am satisfied with the food and meal service”.
“Based on the results, it seems that there are considerable quality differences in home care meal service. Good nutritional status is a key factor in terms of the ability of the elderly to function, so more attention must be paid to this issue in the future,” says THL’s leading expert Sari Kehusmaa in the bulletin.
According to Kehusmaa, home care meal service can be produced by a welfare district or it can be purchased from a private producer. The welfare regions are also responsible for monitoring the quality of the outsourced service.
THL’s project coordinator Summer in Leppäaho according to the regional comparison of the results must be done carefully, because the response activity was not high in all regions.
In the survey customers’ experiences were also investigated on four other issues related to home care and 24/7 assisted living: adequacy of service, friendliness of caregivers, experience of safety and consideration of wishes. According to THL, for the most part they were satisfied with these things.
The survey respondents were particularly satisfied with the nurses’ friendliness. 96 percent of home care clients were satisfied with the friendliness of the caregivers, 92 percent of round-the-clock care clients.
In both home care and round-the-clock care, about nine out of ten were satisfied with the safety experience.
On the other hand, when it comes to taking wishes into account, the estimates were weaker. A fifth of the customers of 24/7 assisted living were dissatisfied with the consideration of wishes, in home care the share was 14 percent. According to the survey, the customers’ wishes were very ordinary, such as participation in household chores and recreational activities, as well as the possibility to adjust eating and sleeping rhythms to suit themselves.
THL’s more than 24,000 home care and approximately 17,500 24-hour assisted living customers responded to the survey. The survey was conducted in the spring and early summer of last year, so the results describe the situation in the regions before the start of the welfare zones.
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