ACCESSIBILITY OF ELDERLY CARE SERVICES IN DIGITAL COMMUNITY GOVERNANCE: MECHANISMS, STRUCTURAL BARRIERS, AND INSTITUTIONAL PATHWAYS
Keywords:
Digital community governance, Community-based elder care services, Service accessibility, Digital inclusion, Institutional coordinationAbstract
The digital transformation of community-based eldercare services has altered the flow of service information and the methods for processing applications. Whether the expansion of digital channels can improve actual service opportunities for older adults depends on the integration of technology with organizational and institutional conditions. This paper employs a comprehensive review of the literature, conceptual analysis, and institutional analysis to define the accessibility of eldercare services as a process-oriented opportunity that spans needs identification, information comprehension, application processing, resource coordination, and service delivery. It constructs an analytical framework in which technology, organization, and institutions jointly shape accessibility. The analysis suggests that information integration, needs identification, resource coordination, support implementation, and feedback-driven course correction constitute the primary mechanisms through which digitalization influences service access. Imbalances between capability requirements and support provision, discrepancies between data categorization and actual needs, disconnects between platform connectivity and accountability, as well as biases in efficiency evaluations, may hinder these mechanisms. New digital barriers may compound economic constraints and supply shortages, while the effectiveness of platform optimization is limited by resource conditions. Governance restructuring aimed at improving accessibility should be guided by actual service access, refining arrangements for channel interoperability, routine assistance, organizational responsiveness, data correction, and equitable evaluation, thereby transforming digital conveniences into inclusive service opportunities.References
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