Exit and Voice : An Investigation of Care Service Users in Austria, Belgium, Italy and Northern Ireland (Non Peer-Reviewed Article) - Detailansicht

Grunddaten

Titel der Arbeit (title)	Exit and Voice : An Investigation of Care Service Users in Austria, Belgium, Italy and Northern Ireland
Titel der Zeitschrift bzw. Zeitung	European Journal of Ageing European Journal of Ageing 2007, Vol. 4
Erscheinungsjahr	2007
Verlag (publisher)	Springer
Seitenzahl (pages)	59-69
Publikationsart	Non Peer-Reviewed Article

Inhalt
Abstract	The past decades have seen an introduction of market elements in the provision of social care services. Welfare state reforms all over Europe have produced welfare pluralism and claims that the increased choice will enhance user participation, promote older persons' autonomy, and improve the quality of services. Within the 5th FP Research Project CARMA (Care for the Aged at Risk of Marginalization) a case study among users of care services in Austria, Belgium, Italy, and Northern Ireland was conducted that focussed on friction and conflict between clients and service providers and investigated the reasons for discharge and denial of admission to a service. The data from this study can be interpreted in terms of Hirschman's (1970) theory on 'exit' and 'voice' as expressions of consumers' dissatisfaction with the quality of a product. Data were collected in different systems offering a variety of procedures for exit from one provider and the choice of a competitor. Also different practices of handling voice i.e. complaints have been documented. The paper questions to what extent various possibilities for exit and voice can enhance users' autonomy and increase the quality of the service supply. It thus contributes empirical findings to a debate that often emphasizes ideological arguments.

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