Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Research in Social Sciences and Humanities
Year: 2023
DOI:
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Effectiveness of the social welfare policy for the Elderly Day Care Centre in Mauritius
Sanjayduth Bhundhoo, Toshima Makoondlall- Chadee, Chandradeo Bokhoree
ABSTRACT:
Creation of Elderly Day Care Centres (EDCCs) in Mauritius came up in May 2001 when the Ministry of Social Security, National Solidarity & Senior Citizens Welfare and Reform Institutions launched the National Policy on Elderly with the theme “Ageing with dignity”.
This policy paper was a way of reaffirming the Government’s commitment in the consolidation of the welfare state and promoting welfare for our elderly. The aim of this study was to find out whether the National Policy on Elderly is fulfilling the requirements and prospects of the elders, assessing the expectations and experiences of elderly attending EDCCs and situate the role of EDCC in improving the life of our elders. Semi-structured interviews methods were used followed by triangulation and ethnography were carried out in 20 EDCCs with participants who attended EDCC for more than one year. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) and Line-by-Line coding was used to analyse the verbatim transcripts of the interviews. Information gathered from the research revealed lots of lacunas in the operations of EDCCs. Concerning EDCCs in Mauritius, there still lots to achieve in terms of social policy for the welfare of the elderly. This research concluded that EDCCs perform an important role in the life of elders in terms of being occupied, having company and sharing a good bond with the staff. Many lacunas spotted that EDCCs need to address so as to make the National Policy on elderly to be more effective.
keywords: Elderly Day Care Centre, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), Social policy, Social Welfare, Welfare of Elderly