Socio-pedagogical Services for Senior Citizens: Approach to Quality Measurement

Abstract

In the modern world a growth in the share of elderly in the population is marked as a result of the improved quality of life and health care. The prolongation of active working age, prevention of poverty and exclusion of senior citizens are main problems facing every modern state. Socio-pedagogical services to senior people are aimed to prevent deviations from social and moral norms and delinquent behavior, to form positive interests including recreation sphere, organization of customer’s recreation and solution of other socio-pedagogical problems of life. In St. Petersburg socio-pedagogical services for seniors are rendered through a network of socio-leisure centers, the number of which constantly increases. According to the road map adopted in April 2013 by the Government of St. Petersburg «Enhancing the efficiency and quality of services in the sphere of social services in St. Petersburg on 2013–2018» implementing quality measuring tools is the integral part of quality management in the social sphere providing services to the elderly. Article deals with the problem of methodological support of the process of socio-pedagogical services for senior citizens quality measuring. The necessity of implementing marketing techniques of socio-pedagogical services quality measurement in the field of public services rendering are substantiated. According to the authors, services marketing tools provide better understanding of what makes customers satisfied, and how this can be measured. Thus, the heart of the modern strategy for the public social sphere is that social services must be increasingly responsive to the needs and aspirations of their customers.