Frail older people's experiences and use of health and social care services.
OBJECTIVE
To highlight older people's experiences and expectations of services and the consequences for service provision, service development and research.


BACKGROUND
A large amount of resources have been invested in providing services for frail older people who experienced multiple hospital admissions. However, their own views are under-reported.


METHODS
Semi-structured interviews with frail older people were conducted in four Scottish Health Board areas to explore the context of emergency admissions and the use of extramural services.


RESULTS
Frail older people are high users of services but claim that services are not responsive to their main concerns: meeting individual needs, maximizing independence and helping to live fulfilled lives. Services not catering for these needs are often cancelled or left in abeyance.


CONCLUSIONS
The same people who are targeted by care services are reluctant to engage with them. Care providers need to adopt older people's priorities to provide them with responsive patient-centred care.
Themessl-Huber
Markus
M
School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK. m.themesslhuber@dundee.ac.uk
Hubbard
Gill
G
Munro
Pat
P
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003256:Community Participation; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D016330:Frail Elderly / Q000523:psychology*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000458:organization & administration; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000458:organization & administration; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D020380:Needs Assessment / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D018802:Patient-Centered Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012606:Scotland; D012944:Social Support; D012947:Social Work / Q000458:organization & administration*; D013222:State Medicine / Q000458:organization & administration; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires