The World Health Organization has promoted age-friendly city (AFC) projects in response to the aging population. Taiwan has also promoted AFC policies. This study was conducted in Taitung County, where 15.37% of the population is older adults in Taiwan. The aim was to understand the perceptions of older adults and service providers with regard to the current status of AFC policies to influence future policies. The participants of this study were older adults and service providers in various regions of Taitung. Quantitative questionnaires were completed by older adults and qualitative interviews were held with focus groups. The older adults were the most satisfied with the AFC domains of “respect and social inclusion” and “community and health services”, and the least satisfied with “transportation” and “civic participation and employment”. Homogeneity existed between the older adults’ satisfaction levels in different regions and the service providers’ opinions; however, there were notable differences between them. Both economic development and the ethnicity of groups in different regions are influential factors that determine the success of government policies. In promoting AFC policies, local governments should consider their applicability based on local conditions and resources to meet the needs of the aging population in rural areas.

Since the first outbreak of COVID-19 in December 2019, numerous countries have experienced waves of outbreaks that have had severe social, economic, and political effects. Many medical and anthropological studies have suggested that tribes and elders in rural and indigenous villages became isolated from the outside world due to a lack of resources and because of cultural constraints. On January 22, 2020, the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Taiwan was discovered. As of October 23, 2022, 7,476,478 confirmed cases have been reported; of these, only 64,298 were in Taitung County, making it the region with the fewest cases in Taiwan. In this ethnographic study, I visited indigenous tribes in Taiwan that were less affected during the pandemic, conducted in-depth interviews with tribal-care providers, and collected secondary data from reports and social media regarding pandemic prevention on tribes in Taitung County. I also explored the difficulties created by the suspension of tribal-care services due to pandemic-related social distancing and isolation measures, and how care providers overcame these challenges. COVID-19 is not the first and nor will it be the last virus to threaten humans. Thus, it is important to gain insight into how care networks and connections were rebuilt through innovative measures that enabled tribal elders to receive culturally sensitive care and maintain their health during the pandemic.