社區照顧關懷據點於老人虐待事件所扮演之角色

Abstract

背景與目的：隨著老年人口的上升，相關議題與需求也日益被重視。其中，老人虐待是一個棘手的問題。造成老人虐待的原因很多，「社會孤立」是其中一個重要的危險因子。社會孤立程度越高的老人，遭受虐待的風險及嚴重程度越高。近年來，台灣政府推動「在地老化」等政策，而「社區照顧關懷據點」也就此成立。「社區參與」與「在地初級預防服務」為社區照顧關懷據點設立之兩大重點，而社區參與提升有助於降低社會孤立的程度。因此，本研究目的在於了解社區照顧關懷據點於老人虐待事件所扮演的角色。其中包含了解社區照顧關懷據點於老人虐待事件相關業務執行的現況為何；社區照顧關懷據點的設立是否有助於老人的社區參與和提供在地初級預防，進而減少了老人虐待事件的發生或降低其嚴重性。 研究方法：本研究採質性訪談設計，以立意抽樣方法來選取進行半結構式訪談之對象。訪談對象主要為於社區照顧關懷據點之工作人員並為法律規定若知悉老人虐待事件，具有通報義務者，包含里長、里幹事、社工人員。共招募24人，訪談內容包含目前社區照顧關懷據點執行與老人虐待相關之業務；處理、通報老人虐待案件之經驗；影響通報的因素；社區照顧關懷據點設立前、後之業務執行狀況；對有關社區照顧關懷據點政策的建議。 研究結果：本研究發現，多數受訪者無處理老人虐待案件之經驗，而受虐老人本身的最大利益為影響受訪者向上通報之主要考量因素。此外，受訪者認為社區照顧關懷據點之成立確實能增加老人之社會連結，不過相關配套措施，例如，經費核銷及品質把關，仍有改善空間。以先階段來說，社區照顧關懷據點於老人虐待事件扮演著間接預防之角色。

Background and Objectives: Issues related to the elderly are getting emphasized due to the increasing elder population. Among these, elder abuse has been a tricky one. Many things can cause elder abuse. According to existing studies, “social isolation” is a risk factor of elder abuse. People who are under higher degree of social isolation leads to a higher risk of suffering from elder abuse. In recent years, the Taiwan government has pursued the ideal of “aging in place” leading to a series of policy including the establishment of “community care centers.” Community participation and primary prevention care in place are the two main strategies of this policy. Therefore, this study aims to (1) understand the current situation of how the community care centers practice the affairs related to elder abuse, (2) explore how the establishment of community care centers improved the elders’ community participation and provided primary prevention care in place, and (3) if it decreased the incidences and severity of elder abuse. Methods: This is a qualitative research with semi-structured interviews. Purposeful sampling will be used to select 24 participants. Participants will be workers at community centers who are mandated reporters, such as village chiefs, village clerks, and social workers. The contents of the interview include the current situation of how the community care centers practice the affairs related to elder abuse; experiences of dealing and reporting incidents of elder abuse; factors affecting reporting; the comparison of how the community care centers practice the affairs related to elder abuse before and after the establishment of community care centers; suggestion for the policy. Results: Most of the interviewees don’t have experiences in dealing with incidents of elder abuse, and what affects them reporting the incidents is victims’ interests. Furthermore, interviewees think the establishment of community care centers can increase elders’ social connection. However, the government still need to find some schemes to support its running, such as the rembursement system and quality control.