An exploratory study on the institutionalization of a case management model for community care services in Hong Kong

One of Hong Kong's foremost challenges is that of services for an ageing population. Studies suggest an increasing gap between the supply of long-term care services and their demand. The case management approach has been recommended as a new service delivery mode for community care services to promote well-being in older people and achieve ageing in place. However, there is little study of case management in social welfare settings in Hong Kong. To fill this knowledge gap, we conducted exploratory qualitative research on case management in Hong Kong, with the primary research question of how an individual case management model can be implemented successfully for community care services for older people. What are the resources, organizational strategies, and professional capacities needed to institutionalize case management? What are its barriers? The purpose of this study is to examine the lived experiences of service users, family caregivers and professional workers surrounding the process of case management in Enhanced Home and Community Care Services (EHCCS) and Integrated Home Care Service (Frail Cases) (IHCS)(FC). In-depth individual face-to-face interviews were conducted with 26 service users and 26 family caregivers, while two focus group interviews were conducted with 10 social workers and 10 health care professionals, respectively, from July to December 2021. Findings indicate a number of barriers to effective implementation of case management, such as insufficient professional training, high turnover rate of the service teams, heavy workloads on staff, resource constraints, lack of institutional support, and others. This study provides new insights on the potential roles, functions and work practices of an individualized case management approach for community care services in Hong Kong. The study points to a number of needed policy changes.