[Organisational challenges of community information offices for the elderly in Switzerland : A qualitative study with...

Current Swiss politics concerning age and ageing are orientated towards the principle "out-patient before in-patient". As part of new regulations, in 2011 all communities were required to set up information offices to answer questions about out-patient and in-patient care.

The aim of this qualitative study was to analyse in which form and under which conditions such information offices are run.

A qualitative study was conducted which consisted of semistructured interviews with managers of information offices. They were analysed using qualitative content analysis.

The analysis shows that on the one hand the information offices have the potential to serve an important role in the communities and that they have a highly complex, demanding and responsible function. On the other hand the results illustrate that in organisational respects the situation is highly heterogeneous and unregulated.

For the running of the information offices, there is need for action such as the definition of general framework, quality standards, qualifications and values profiles, objectives, mission, responsibility and legitimation, instruments for networking and cooperations.