Investigating user satisfaction with the services provided by the care program “Helping Elderly at Home” and assessing their self-evaluation health level: The case of the program “Helping Elderly at Home” in the municipality of Kilkis

Introduction: The recent socioeconomic crisis created an imperative need to empower the non-hospital structures that provide care services to the elderly. In Greece, the programs “Helping Elderly at Home” and “Social Care” are the most widespread kind of non-institutional care services. Aim: To investigate user satisfaction with the services provided by a provincial care program “Helping Elderly at Home” and its determinants. Material and Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted during March and April 2017 and the study population consisted of 138 elderly people from 65 to 90 years old. Data were collected by means of two anonymous questionnaires that were completed voluntarily by the participants. Results: The level of complete satisfaction was quite high (4,05 on a measuring scale 1-5). Among demographic factors found to be significantly correlated with overall satisfaction, participants of greater age and those who had more frequent visits by the personnel reported higher satisfaction. Furthermore, longer participation at the program and increased frequency of visits were correlated with higher satisfaction by the personnel, higher satisfaction by the participants’ socioeconomic condition and higher satisfaction by the program effectiveness. Conclusions: The empowerment of the program “Helping Elderly at Home”, in the context of applying preventive and health promotion actions, could improve the quality of life of the elderly, acting as a compensatory factor to the Greek socioeconomic crisis.

Keywords: Help at home, satisfaction, quality of life, health level