Development of Accreditation Approach of Elderly Care Service Providers

Abstract

The purpose of this book chapter is to explore the similarities and differences in the development of performance measures and accreditation systems for the quality assurance of elderly care service providers of Asian and Western origins, focusing on Hong Kong, Macau, Australia and Canada. Building on a proposed theoretical framework, this study utilizes a multiple-case study method to examine the influencing factors for the accreditation approach adopted by a jurisdiction. The findings suggest that the quality assurance of the elderly care service operators of the Asian origins as selected appears to lag behind those of the Western countries and undergo their own peculiar paths of development. Thus, Hong Kong and Macau could learn from the practical experience of Australia and Canada in terms of their concerted approaches for funding, accreditation and assessments under an increasingly market-driven service sector in which the well-being of the end-users needs to be adequately protected.

An evaluation of community care services for the elderly in Hong Kong

“…Different scholars have endeavoured to investigate the LTC in Hong Kong revolving around five major themes: a) a historical account of the development of LTC in Hong Kong from 1970s onwards (Chan and Philipps, 2002); b) the problems faced by LTC in compromising ageing in place (e.g., structural constrains as exemplified by an unbalanced budget allocation to subsidised RCS over CCS (Chui, 2011), a lack of alternative funding mode apart from subsidised CCS (Leung, 2001) and a lack of LTC insurance coverage (Chi, 2001), operational constraints as illustrated by poor service coordination (Chi, 2001; Leung, 2001) and no quality control over services (Chi, 2001; Leung, 2001), cultural constraints as exemplified by declining filial virtues (Chui, 2008; Fong and Law, 2017) and a change in family structure and support (Leung, 2001); c) an exploration of the alternative arrangements to the current LTC (e.g., a proposal of voucher system on LTC in Hong Kong by putting against four preconditions of a sustainable care system (Chou et al , 2005) and an introduction of an accreditation system for LTC by taking reference of models from Australia and Canada (Ng et al , 2017); d) the projections on financial sustainability of LTC (Yuen, 2014) and e) how LTC (i.e., RCS and CCS) respond to the threats emanating from COVID-19 (Lum et al , 2020).…”

Sustainable Development Goal 1.2

“…Environmental and health risks are also associated with fire and disease outbreaks, and chronic issues caused by poor indoor air quality Ng, 2019 ). Besides, architectural design of the residential buildings and facilities should be elderly friendly or age-friendly in order to fulfil the physical, psychological and social needs of the elderly ( Leung et al, 2016 ;Ng et al, 2018b ).…”