Long-Term Care in Indonesia: The Role of Integrated Service Post for Elderly

This article aims to examine community long-term care (LTC) in Indonesia by drawing upon the five principles of human right provision: availability, accessibility, acceptability, quality, and universality.

We used a qualitative approach with exploratory multiple case studies in three different areas in East Java Province, Indonesia. This study gathered the initial evidence using a report card approach with self-report questionnaires. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions were carried out to understand factors that affect the efficacy of LTC services.

The Indonesia Government imposed a regulation that required each local community to make community health services available for the elderly. By managing the integrated post, the community provided LTC service for the elderly. Community leadership played a pivotal role to make LTC services available. Improving the services with religious activities was essential to improving the acceptability, but it also needed to take into consideration universality and nondiscrimination principles. Results show that LTC services are difficult to expand and quality standards are difficult to raise, due to challenges such as few community members volunteering their services, lack of support from religious leaders, limited resources, and inadequate volunteer training.

This study highlights the role of community engagement in LTC services and shows that it is difficult to succeed without adequate government support. Improving services with creative and culturally acceptable activities is necessary.