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

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.

Social determinants of older adults’ awareness of community support services in Hamilton, Ontario

“…Income was fairly normally distributed across the sample with 12% reporting income below $20 000; 22% reporting income between $20 000 and $40 000 and 17% reporting income above $80 000. Comparisons to data on Hamilton from the Canadian Census shows that the sample was disproportionately female, Canadian born, had English as a first language and more respondents had higher levels of education than is true for residents of Hamilton (Denton et al. 2008).…”

“…As suggested in the literature review, not knowing or understanding how to access the needed services is a major barrier to service use (Silverstein 1984, Gallagher & Truglio‐Londrigan 2004). Analysis presented elsewhere (Denton et al. 2008) shows that about one‐quarter of our respondents would seek information about CSSs from information and referral services, the telephone book, doctor’s offices and from informal sources such as discussions with friends, neighbours and family members.…”

“…They also avoid investigator bias, whereby the list of services is bounded by the investigators’ awareness of available services. For more details on the overall study methodology, see Denton et al. (2008).…”

“…The purpose of this study is to describe middle‐aged and older adults’ awareness of CSSs and to identify the relationship between the social determinants of health and awareness of CSSs. To avoid acquiescence bias, the study uses vignette methodology to determine awareness of CSSs (Denton et al. 2008).…”

Predictors of Independent Living Outcomes Among Older Women Receiving Informal Care

“…Older women who feel that they are in control of the events in their lives have been found to have lower levels of depression, activity limitation and psychosocial symptoms while having increased longevity and better self-rated health (Denton, 2009). Data from the AHEAD survey (Asset and Health Dynamics of the Oldest Old) found that limitations in mobility and performing self-care were correlated with high depressive symptoms in women 70 and older (Bould, 2008).…”