The receptivity of older adults to innovative mutual-aid arrangements
✍ Scribed by Charles Korte
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1991
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 474 KB
- Volume
- 19
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0090-4392
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
This article reviews the receptivity of older adults to innovative mutual-aid arrangements, an area that may become more critical to the need fulfillment of the elderly as we become an aging society. The limited background to date gives a mixed picture: There are a growing number of programs, but participation in these programs is small. Surveys suggest substantial levels of interest in help-exchange among the elderly, and yet values of self-sufficiency and independence remain strong. A case study is presented in which the circumstances seemed favorable for the initiation of a help-exchange program within a retiree organization. A planning survey among the members of this organization showed some receptivity toward the help-exchange program but also showed a far greater preference for meeting needs with paid services and an insufficient critical mass for justifying the initiation of a helpexchange program. Cultural values of self-sufficiency and independence seemed significant in the response to mutual-aid arrangements.