From the available results, it appears that when respondents use a service, they usually do so repeatedly, and the majority rate the services as ‘Excellent’ (providing more than the respondent needs) or ‘Very Good’. Overall, we can conclude that the target groups (seniors, foreigners, disabled individuals, socially excluded families, and homeless people) surprisingly do not use services as often as expected – only 96 out of 455 respondents (21%) reported using any service. This is surprising given that these are the most in-need groups. However, when they do report using services, they use them frequently (5 or more times in the years 2019 and 2020) and rate them positively (overwhelmingly as excellent or very good).
It seems that these groups rely mainly on themselves, their close ones, or expect to handle potential problems ad hoc. The fact that current clients of OSS services reported satisfaction does not necessarily mean that the majority of needs are being met. To enable OSS to secure more detailed feedback regarding satisfaction with services, we prepared a questionnaire that allows OSS to verify satisfaction with selected services/organizations according to the needs of the City of Plzeň’s Magistrate. Evaluating the quality of provided services will also offer feedback to determine the intensity of demanded services. The obtained data can then expand the findings of this report and enable more targeted allocation of financial resources and service settings.
The finding that these groups rely on themselves or their close ones corresponds with another finding that a strong, yet hidden, group identified itself as informal caregivers. They make up almost 21% of Plzeň’s population. These are individuals who care for someone close to them. Their statements indicate that they form a significantly overloaded group for whom strengthening relief services could represent significant relief. The aim is not for social services to fulfill all the care of this group of informal caregivers, but to ensure that the level of burden becomes bearable.
For more info, contact: kss@kss.zcu.cz