SERVICE DELIVERY & UTILIZATION OF ELDERLY PROGRAMMES & SERVICES IN THE CITY-WEST AREA

Abstract

Population ageing is one ofthe world's most intractable problem in the next century and is indeed a worrying trend. Without- exception, Singapore is fast becoming an aged society. Its greying population is increasing at a rate faster than many other developed economies and is comparable to that of Japan's; another rapidly ageing nation. If the predictions of demographers were accurate, we have a grave problem in our hands. This would be the provision of economic, financial and social programmes and services for the increased number of elderly in Singapore for this decade and the next century. At the moment, Singapore seems to be trailing behind the developed nations in this regard. The pressing need, therefore, is to develop more current and sophisticated elderly services and programmes to existing ones and improve service delivery of these provisions. Furthermore, there is also a real need to develop local literature and indigenous models applicable for policy planning and program designing in the local context. Local research, therefore, becomes the crucial starting point for such efforts. In this study, fourteen key informants from the various agencies that provide programs and services to the elderly were interviewed. The list of informants included front-line service providers as well as indirect service providers. They are key personnel who are strategically placed in the agencies and who have a good knowledge of the current and relevant needs and problems ofthe elderly, gaps in service provision, coordination and delivery issues. In addition, six focus group discussions were conducted. Two of these groups comprised of community and grassroots leaders and residents from the area of study. The other groups consisted of both elderly users and non-users from the majority and minority races in Singapore. This effort aims to gain insight to some of the possible factors that determined utilization of elderly services or its non-use. By understanding some of the factors that affect service delivery to the elderly and service utilization by the elderly, it is hoped that existing services could be improved, expanded and strengthened. In addition, this research effort aims to highlight the gaps in service provision and reduce duplication and resource wastage, thereby helping service providers to better understand the real needs of the elderly users a:1d develop appropriate measures for intervention.