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Prof. Lei Xiaoyan: Improve Care for the Elderly

Nov 29-2022   



China is currently building a multi-layered system for elderly services, but the supply side still needs to undergo changes, said Prof. Lei Xiaoyan in an event jointly held by Peking University and Lancet, the academic journal, on China’s path to healthy aging. She is NSD’s Professor of Economics, PKU Bo Ya Distinguished Professor, and the Ministry of Education’s Changjiang Scholar Distinguished Professor.

 

The increasing demand for long-term care (LTC) among senior residents has been compounded by decrease in child number and rise in population mobility, pointed out Prof. Lei. Family members who take care of the elderly for a long time have to cope with both psychological pressure and economic burden. In recent years, the government has been promoting a supporting system called ’90-7-3’ (or ’90-6-4’ in some areas), which means 90% of the elderly take care of themselves at home, 7% rely on community services, and 3% stay at nursing homes.

 

The strategy makes sense as research shows that most of the senior residents prefer staying home, either living with or close to their children or simply living on their own. The figures help to explain why many nursing homes, a sector in rapid development since 2000, have a high level of unoccupied beds.

 

Prof. Lei citied other research which shows that senior residents would like to have services delivered to their homes, including medical care, housework, rehabilitation care, and accompanying. From 2014 to 2018, those saying that they would go to a nursing home if they needed care services rose from 15.5% to 22.4%, and those that would do so out of solitude jumped from 1.8% to 9.7%. However, most of the elderly surveyed admitted to neither knowing nursing homes well enough nor having a good impression of them.

 

Out of recent developments have emerged two promising modes, observed Prof. Lei. One is mid- to high-end communities, in which the elderly move into new homes and have access to community services; the other is called ‘embedded community support’, which allows the elderly to stay at their own homes while community services are upgraded and delivered to them. Regardless of the modes, the government can play an important role in not just providing venues and subsidies but also improving institutional design, so that nursing homes and communities can achieve sustainable development over the long term, said Prof. Lei.

Prof. Lei Xiaoyan: Improve Care for the Elderly

Nov 29-2022   



China is currently building a multi-layered system for elderly services, but the supply side still needs to undergo changes, said Prof. Lei Xiaoyan in an event jointly held by Peking University and Lancet, the academic journal, on China’s path to healthy aging. She is NSD’s Professor of Economics, PKU Bo Ya Distinguished Professor, and the Ministry of Education’s Changjiang Scholar Distinguished Professor.

 

The increasing demand for long-term care (LTC) among senior residents has been compounded by decrease in child number and rise in population mobility, pointed out Prof. Lei. Family members who take care of the elderly for a long time have to cope with both psychological pressure and economic burden. In recent years, the government has been promoting a supporting system called ’90-7-3’ (or ’90-6-4’ in some areas), which means 90% of the elderly take care of themselves at home, 7% rely on community services, and 3% stay at nursing homes.

 

The strategy makes sense as research shows that most of the senior residents prefer staying home, either living with or close to their children or simply living on their own. The figures help to explain why many nursing homes, a sector in rapid development since 2000, have a high level of unoccupied beds.

 

Prof. Lei citied other research which shows that senior residents would like to have services delivered to their homes, including medical care, housework, rehabilitation care, and accompanying. From 2014 to 2018, those saying that they would go to a nursing home if they needed care services rose from 15.5% to 22.4%, and those that would do so out of solitude jumped from 1.8% to 9.7%. However, most of the elderly surveyed admitted to neither knowing nursing homes well enough nor having a good impression of them.

 

Out of recent developments have emerged two promising modes, observed Prof. Lei. One is mid- to high-end communities, in which the elderly move into new homes and have access to community services; the other is called ‘embedded community support’, which allows the elderly to stay at their own homes while community services are upgraded and delivered to them. Regardless of the modes, the government can play an important role in not just providing venues and subsidies but also improving institutional design, so that nursing homes and communities can achieve sustainable development over the long term, said Prof. Lei.