Enhancing Elderly Care Services: A Comprehensive Internet+ Community Home Indicator System

Abstract

Background In the context of the smart city and aging trends, Internet + community home-based care offers a novel approach to elderly care in China. However, limited research has focused on developing a comprehensive indicator system to address the diverse needs of elderly individuals residing at home. Based on existence needs, relationship needs and growth needs abbreviated as "ERG" demand theory. In response, this study leverages the ERG demand theory as a functional framework to establish a demand-oriented Internet + community home-based elderly service indicator system. Methods In this study, we adopt the ERG demand theory as the conceptual framework and employ a combination of the Delphi method and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), thereby integrating both qualitative and quantitative research techniques to develop and assign weightings to the demand-orientated indicator system for Internet-based community home healthcare services for the elderly. Our research methodology is based on comprehensive literature reviews and collaborative group meetings. Results The study developed a demand-orientated Internet + community home healthy elderly service indicator system, comprising three primary indicators, 10 secondary indicators, and 46 tertiary indicators. These top-level indicators, ranked in descending order of importance, are medical and nursing services (0.493), living care services (0.311), and psychosocial/spiritual support services (0.196). Conclusion The indicator system serves the purpose of comprehending the health status and care requirements of elderly individuals confined to their homes while offering personalized services. In addition to addressing the fundamental needs of homebound older people through individualized care and expert medical guidance, this program places a significant emphasis on the spiritual and psychological well-being of these individuals to ensure a holistic approach to their physical and mental needs. This research posits that the indicator system can aid community healthcare workers in discerning the demand distribution for elderly services and optimizing resource allocation. By continuously evaluating and monitoring the indicators, this approach facilitates the enhancement of service quality and the fine-tuning of strategies, ultimately delivering efficient, safe, and high-quality elderly care services.