Elderly community residents' evaluative criteria and preferences for formal and informal in-home services

This article focuses on the evaluative criteria of elderly community residents regarding their preferences in cases of long-term care decision-making. An overall picture of the evaluative criteria which the elderly use to evaluate various alternatives for long-term care are assessed. Furthermore, we determined which of these evaluative criteria may be considered as the most important by the elderly. A good relationship with informal carers appears almost pre-conditional to a preference for informal support. The desire not to burden acquaintances, as well as a positive previous experience with this type of care, are the most important reasons stated for choosing formal or private services. Insights into criteria that are used to evaluate different care arrangements clarify and refine our perspective on future developments.