Issues in user feedback on health services for elderly people

This article highlights a number of difficulties experienced when collecting consumer feedback from elderly service users and offers suggestions as to how many of these problems can be overcome. Structured interviews would appear to provide the most reliable form of feedback for this client group. The importance of good communication and the fact that ageist and stereotypical attitudes need to be overcome before effective feedback can occur is emphasized. Finally, more research needs to be carried out on elderly clients' expectations of health care and which factors make the health service a positive or negative experience for them.