Hawaii TimeBanking Feasibility Study

From the Hawaii Lifespan Respite Care Program

Executive Summary:

As long-term supports and services (LTSS) increasingly favor home and community-based approaches, the need for family caregivers and community supports becomes significant. The resource limitations of Hawai‘i’s aging and disability networks, coupled with the growing older adult population, increase the urgency for innovative care approaches that consider outcomes for both the care provider and recipient. Explored in detail throughout this report, timebanking is a community exchange approach widely used to co-produce public services and social care. The purpose of this paper was to explore the feasibility of developing a timebank system in Hawai‘i’s Aging Network to supplement formal LTSS and provide a source of community-based respite to caregivers. The major themes- such as the common service exchanges among timebank members, among others- in the ensuing analysis suggest the need to adopt a broadened view of respite that utilizes a family-focused framework. This broadened view of respite will target families’ social determinants of health needs when developing respite approaches for Hawai‘i’s communities. Furthermore, partnerships with the LTSS providers of Hawai‘i’s aging and disability networks, and integration with the Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRC) will increase the impact and utility of a respite-focused timebank. Although not widely considered a public health intervention, timebanks are a community-based participatory approach that have demonstrated quality of life outcomes across diverse communities.