Nursing homes in China

Abstract

China will face a dramatic transition from a young to an aged society in the coming 30 to 40 years. In 2000, there were 88,110,000 persons aged 65 years and older, which represented 7% of the population. This percentage is projected to increase to 23% in 2050. Regarding health and long-term care for older adults, the current challenge is to build a comprehensive system of care for older adults. Nursing home care is an inevitable care model for frail older adults in China, which is largely sponsored by the government of China with contributions from some nongovernment organizations and private investors. China is a large country. Within the country, long-term care varies greatly between rural and urban areas, and among the different economic developing areas. In urban and better-developed areas, the range of services exists; however, in rural and less-developed areas, the range of services is limited. The "Star Light Program" and "Beloved Care Engineering" were recent government initiatives to improve aged care. They were launched in 2001 and have dramatically increased the number of both senior centers and nursing homes for older adults. While the quantity of nursing homes is still inadequate with an additional mismatch problem between the supply and demand, the quality of care in most nursing homes is suboptimal. At present, most administrative and frontline workers in nursing homes have received little training in elder care. There is a need for good-quality structured training in long-term care for all types of staff. Moreover, quality standard for care, including standard setting, assessment, and monitoring, is an important issue and needs substantial improvement for nursing homes in China. Currently, 1.5% of older people live in nursing homes and apartments for older people. Because of the peculiar 4-2-1 family structure in China, we expect the prevalence of nursing home placement of older adults will increase in the coming years. The government of China has realized that it is financially not sustainable to expand in this area using only the government's resources. The current policy is to encourage private and foreign investors to participate in the nursing home business in China.