ABSTRACT
In Taiwan, there has been a push toward long-term care policies and the development of related institutions for elderly care, but there has been less exploration of the space and service models for institutions to interact with communities. This study draws on Japan's experience in promoting community interaction and believes that if long-term care service units can improve or reserve communication spaces that connect with the community in spatial design, they can provide diverse informal care services to promote intergenerational communication in the community. It can also provide more networks and support for residents’ lives (Jinnai 2018). The study takes the YMCA community center and care cafe’ in Tainan, Taiwan, as the research objective, where a relatively diverse mix of volunteers and employees provide formal and informal care services. The study found that the space design and service model for community interaction can inadvertently create a sense of comfort for users in the space, and four factors, including “appropriate communication level,” “social role,” “imagination of aging,” and “healthy eating and knowledge,” showed significant benefits.
