Exploring the facet of elderly care centre in multiethnic Malaysia

Abstract

Purpose Malaysia is considered to be a relatively young country as compared to other older countries such as Japan, China and Australia in terms of the ageing population. However, until 2035, Malaysia will be in the ageing group countries as 15% of the entire population will be above 60 years of age. This situation is quite alarming as more and more ageing care centres will be required to fulfill the ongoing demands of the ageing population. The elderly care centres in Malaysia are categorised as public (sponsored by the government), private, and charity based that comes under religious centres. Currently, there are about 365 registered elderly care centres working in the main states of Malaysia, including Sabah and Sarawak, two states of the East Malaysia. Due to the importance of ageing population issues, the present study is conducted to explore the demographics facet of Malaysian’s elderly care centres. The main reason behind that lies on the fact that many of these centres are still labelled as being not well equipped and lacking behind in trained staff, equipment and also suffering from severe financial constraints but some still capable of working on a sustainability basis. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative Research Strategy has been adopted, and 28 centres throughout Malaysia are included in this study. About 18 Operators from different centres and 15 caregivers were interviewed to get the holistic view of ageing care and facilities in their respective centres. Findings The results highlight that the majority of centres are not receiving any financial help from the government, and few centres are doing small business such as supplying consumable medical and non-medical items and providing renting and rehabilitation centres facilities to sustain. The caregivers are facing issues such as excess workload, less salary, peer conflicts and non-cooperative centre leadership. Originality/value The present study may help to provide useful information to the policymakers, which enables them to formulate the strategies for ageing care centres in Malaysia. As this study provides insight of components that have an impact on the overall wellbeing of elderly care centres, hence, it could help the care services providers to act as a rising star for Malaysian’s social life comfort.

Critical Issues of Human Resource Management in Ageing Care Centres: Case of Malaysia

“…In Malaysia, the majority of the staff in these centres are international migrants from Nepal, Bangladesh, Philippines, India, and Pakistan as a leading source of labour. The effective staff management is the most prominent issues as centres are experiencing the worsening shortage of nurses, caregivers, and severe staff retention issues due to less satisfied and committed staff in aged care industry (King et al, 2013; Leggat et al, 2011; Md Isa et al, 2020; Noor et al, 2020a). This study aims to highlight the critical issues of human resource management in Malaysian ageing care centres.…”

Leadership and decision making challenges among elderly care centre operators: case of multi-ethnic Malaysia

“…Reports predict the rise of about 7 million or 17.6% of the expected population of 40 million by 2040 (Loke et al, 2020). At present, the government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the private sector (Md Isa et al, 2020; provide facilities and services for senior citizens in Malaysia. According to the Government of Malaysia's official portal, there are only 12 government-run elderly homes.…”

“…These elderly care centres play a pivotal role as the ageing population is on a drastic increase. These centres are run by male and female operators and are confronting various managerial, marketing finance, staffing and licencing issues (Md Isa et al, 2020;Md Isa, 2020a , 2020b;. Even then, these centres are surviving with less or no profit.…”

Silent Scream of Malaysian Elderly: A Case Study in Noble Care Ageing Centres

“…During the year 1991-2010, the age group 60 and above shows a drastic increase in Malaysia and doubles from 1 million to 2.2 million. Reports predicted the rise of about 7 million or 17.6 % of the expected population of 40 million by 2040 (Md Isa et al, 2020). In 2005, 7 % of the elderly population was expected to be doubled by 14% by 2028.…”

“…Some are free of charge, and some with minimal basic charge, i.e. centres run by religious groups or communities in remote or rural areas (Md Isa et al, 2020). Few elderly care centres such as Noble Care provide holistic care, and quality services cost to cost with minimum margins of profit needed to be sustainable.…”