WHAT DRIVES CORPORATE ELDERCARE UTILIZATION?

WHY IS USAGE OF CORPORATE ELDERCARE SERVICES ONLY A RATE OF 1-4% WHEN LITERATURE INDICATES THAT 25-30% OF EMPLOYEES ARE CAREGIVERS OF ELDERLY RELATIVES? CORPORATE ELDERCARE PROGRAMS TO REDUCE WORK AND FAMILY STRESS AND INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY ARE BEING QUESTIONED BECAUSE OF LOW USAGE. THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP A CASE STUDY OF ONE COMPANY\U. S. WEST\WHICH USES THE INFORMATION, COUNSELING, AND REFERRAL ELDERCARE MODEL FOR THE PARTNERSHIP GROUP (A NATIONAL DEPENDENT CARE SERVICES FIRM.) TELEPHONE SURVEY OF AT LEAST 30 USERS AND 30 NON-USERS (FROM 600 TO 1,000 SCREENED) WILL PROVIDE IN-DEPTH DATA ON WHY EMPLOYEE CAREGIVERS CHOOSE TO USE OR NOT TO USE ELDERCARE SERVICES. THE PROJECT WILL EXAMINE ORGANIZATIONAL, PERSONAL AND PROGRAMMATIC FACTORS. IN ADDITION TO CASE STUDY, THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP A DETAILED OUTLINE OF GUIDE FOR HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGERS IN CORPORA- TIONS TO USE IN DETERMINING EMPLOYEE ELDERCARE NEEDS, DESIGNING AND "MARKETING" RESPONSIVE CORPORATE PROGRAMS, AND MAINTAINING HIGH USAGE. THE ACTUAL GUIDE IS TO BE DEVELOPED IN PHASE II.