Outreach work with older adults in three Finnish cities: Bridging the way to services

Abstract

In Finland, publicly funded care services should be within the reach of everyone. However, these services are not able to meet the needs of all older adults. Those with multiple and complex needs and social problems are especially at risk of not having their needs met. Outreach work is one of the novel approaches to help vulnerable and socially excluded older adults. This article uses expert interviews of outreach workers to examine what kind of deficiencies they identify in the public service system, and what kind of role outreach work has in addressing these gaps for older adults. The semi-structured interviews are analysed with data-driven content analysis. The results indicate that the main flaws arise from the stiff organisational practices of the current service system in Finland and the lack of time in care services to focus on the individual clients with complex needs. The needs-assessment criteria of home care services are strict, and the needs that fall outside the predefined definitions are often not recognised. Some older adults need strong support in building trust in service providers, defining their needs, and seeking help, as well as accessing and coordinating services. This type of support is needed, for example, by older adults who have multifaceted care needs and who have suffered from different forms of social exclusion for an extensive period of time. Outreach work helps to address the gaps of the social care services, firstly by offering the time and respect which are needed to build trust between socially excluded older adults and service providers. In addition, outreach work concretely helps vulnerable older adults in defining their needs and accessing services. Thereby, outreach work is about bridging the way to services.