EMERGENT NEEDS OF DEPRESSION CARE FOR OLDER ADULTS: EVIDENCE FROM TAIWAN

The over 65 age group continues to grow at an unprecedented rate. Few care delivery systems accommodate this expanding population through home and community-based services that enhance quality of life. With more and more aging people in the society, there are many issues that need to be addressed. Soaring competition among senior-care operators has led to escalating consumer demands on performances, driving the industry to become more customer-oriented. The purpose of this quantitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences and generational-based perspectives of senior residents live in senior-care organizations in the southern Taiwan to examine current and future influences on senior care delivery systems. The authors examined the relationship based on Parasuraman, Zeithmal and Berry’s SERVQUAL ten dimensions. Multiple regression was conducted to test the relationships. The statistical results showed that access, competence, courtesy, and responsiveness are significantly and positively related to customer satisfaction. This finding, among others, suggests that senior-care operators in the southern Taiwan might have overlooked the above mentioned four dimensions as factors leading to customer satisfaction and, ultimately, to a sustainable competitive edge.