Community Support Services and Their Users: The First Eighteen Months. A progress report outlining the research methods and some preliminary results of the study

Abstract

There are three main questions underlying this study. The first concerns the needs for assistance at home by people identified as suitable for a community support program. What are the needs of people who remain at home, and to what extent are these currently being met? This question is concerned with identifying the population most directly affected by community support policies as well as with developing an understanding of the extent of their need for assistance and the consequences or outcomes of their attempts to remain at home. The second question is about their means of support. Who provides assistance of different types in the home, and how do the different sources of support interact together? Specifically, the study set out to determine the relative significance of formal and informal support. Because community support has the potential to be a program which relies on the unpaid efforts of informal caregivers, especially women, this question addresses issues which are often at the heart of the debate about community care. The third question concerns the relationship between community support and other provisions. Is community support an alternative to long term care provided in residential facilities such as nursing homes and hostels?