The supportive community: Help seeking and service use among elderly people in Jerusalem

Abstract

New and innovative services are needed to meet the needs of the growing elderly population of Israel. One such program is the “supportive community” program, which aims to provide a range of critical services to older people in the community. This study followed the response of 181 older residents of the northern quarter of Jerusalem to an invitation to subscribe to this new program and the extent of service utilization among those who joined. Andersen's behavioral model of help seeking provided the theoretical framework for the study. Findings showed that predisposing characteristics of the elderly residents did not predict subscribing to the program; rather, joining was predicted by a combination of enabling characteristics and need characteristics. The results of the findings have implications for attaining program goals, efficient program operation, and the well-being of the members.