ENHANCING QUALITY STANDARDS IN HEALTHCARE FACILITIES FOR ELDERLY AND DEPENDENT CARE: A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF STAKEHOLDER PERSPECTIVES IN HEALTH SERVICE REGION 6

Abstract

This qualitative study aimed to analyze factors affecting standards for establishing health services in elderly care facilities and for dependent individuals. Using purposive sampling, 15 participants were selected for semi-structured interviews. Qualitative data analysis involved transcription, coding, categorization, and inductive synthesis to identify key themes from field data.

The study findings revealed key factors impacting healthcare establishment standards: 1) Personnel factors: operators and service providers lacked awareness, knowledge, and understanding of their roles and responsibilities, with insufficient staffing; 2) Standard comprehension: operators lacked understanding of the three standard criteria—facilities, safety, and services—with service and safety aspects showing the most deficiencies; 3) Mission and resources: Regulatory agencies had diverse missions that were inconsistent with available resources in terms of personnel, budget, and internal structure, affecting supervisory efficiency. 4) Knowledge of assessment personnel: lack of understanding of necessary laws and standards for evaluation, including ability to provide consultation to operators; 5) Regulatory control and penalties: enforcement of the Healthcare Establishment Act B.E. 2559 still had weaknesses in control and penalty provisions, resulting in ineffective implementation. 6) Integration and cooperation: lack of systematic collaboration among relevant agencies at both policy and local levels.

Relevant agencies should develop standardized training curricula for caregivers and operators that align with actual practice, continuously enhance knowledge and awareness of roles and responsibilities among operators, allocate adequate and appropriate budget and personnel, update laws to be current and comprehensive for real situations, and establish integration systems among all sectors to ensure quality and sustainable elderly care in healthcare establishments.