Young Chinese more aware of elderly care issues
Young people in China are more aware of the issues regarding elderly care and more of them are making early preparations, according to a survey by China Youth Daily. Among 1,876 surveyed people aged 18 to 35, 52.1 percent have bought insurance for themselves or their parents in preparation for life after retirement. Some of them said they had bought insurance for fear that they wouldn't be able to afford the elderly care services they or their parents would need after retirement. For many of them, medical service expenditures remain a major concern. Wang Yuanyuan (pseudonym,) an interviewee from Tianjin, said her father's heart operation cost her family more than 100,000 yuan (about 15,000 US dollars). For this reason, apart from purchasing insurance, many interviewees also chose to take better care of their own health, or encourage their families to do so. About 57.1 percent of the interviewees urged their elderly family members to take part in medical examinations on a regular basis, and 47.8 percent opted . . . . read more in China Daily
China’s median age will soon overtake America’s
Shortly after 9am the neighbourhood care centre for the elderly shuffles to life. One man belts out a folk song. A centenarian sits by his Chinese chessboard, awaiting an opponent. A virtual-reality machine, which lets users experience such exotic adventures as grocery shopping and taking the subway, sits unused in the corner. A bigger attraction is the morning exercise routine—a couple of dozen people limbering up their creaky joints. They are the leading edge of China’s rapid ageing, a trend that is already starting to constrain its economic potential. Since the care centre opened half a year ago in Changning, in central Shanghai, more than 12,000 elderly people from the area have passed through its doors. The city launched these centres in 2014, combining health clinics, drop-in facilities and old-people’s homes. It plans to have 400 by 2022. “We can’t wait. We’ve got to do everything in our ability to build these now,” says Peng Yanli, a community . . . . read more in The Economist
China offers incentives to develop elderly care in face of ‘alarming’ population ageing
China is growing old at an alarming rate, at an inopportune time. Projections estimate China’s elderly population will be larger than that of the United States by 2020, the surge coming at a time when family ties are weakening as urbanisation and all that it represents shifts the family dynamic. Senior care facilities are rare in China, and many that have heard of such facilities are not eager to move there. Yet, in late 2014, China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) and Ministry of Commerce jointly announced they had opened up the for-profit senior care institution and services industry for investment, hoping that international investment will help deliver the senior care services needed before the country’s old-age dependency gets too great. “Demographic and socioeconomic changes are happening so rapidly that the traditional way of family care for the elderly in China is getting seriously strained,” says Feng Zhanlian, senior research analyst at research institute RTI International. “More than three decades of one-child family policy have made the situation even worse. So the demand is clear and running high.” One of the more attractive incentives that the government is offering is the opportunity to operate the business as a “wholly foreign-owned” enterprise. In the past, . . . . read more in The South China Morning Post
Aanpassen en meten: ouder worden in Hong Kong
Voorbereiden op het ouder worden. Niet alleen ouderen in Nederland zijn ermee bezig. Of zouden er meer bezig moeten zijn eigenlijk. Uit recent van onderzoek I&O Research in opdracht van dagblad Trouw blijkt dat de ‘yeps’ (young eldelry persons) niet bezig zijn met de toekomst en zich niet voorbereiden op hun oude dag. In Hong Kong is het niet anders. Het aantal ouderen neemt ook daar toe. Ouderen wonen in krappe woningen, veelal in grootschalige, torenhoge flats. De Hong Kong Housing society heeft in 2005 het Elderly Resources Centre (ERC) opgericht om ouderen, mantelzorgers, professionals, vrijwilligers en studenten te informeren over het zo lang mogelijk zelfstandig wonen. Er gebeurt meer dan informatie geven over seniorvriendelijke woningen, want ouderen kunnen ook een screening laten doen. In het centrum zijn de kleine appartementen die in Hong Kong veelvuldig aanwezig zijn nagemaakt. Maatschappelijk werkers, ergotherapeuten en vrijwilligers helpen de ouderen die hier komen. ‘Ouderen kunnen er een kijkje nemen en allerlei hulpmiddelen, gadgets en technische snufjes zien’, zegt Sabrina Li, manager van het ERC. ‘Ik vertel hen dat ze bij hun woningen moeten letten op veiligheid, toegankelijkheid en comfort.’ Ze laat ons een bed zien die uit een kast gerold wordt. ‘Daar kan een familielid slapen. De volgende ochtend kun je het bed weer ‘oprollen.’ Het kost dus geen ruimte. We noemen dit een ‘verborgen bed’. Maar het komt uit Europa dus jullie kennen dit al. En dit is een automatische medicijn verdeler. Zo krijgen ouderen nooit teveel pillen.’ Sabrina is erg enthousiast over het centrum. In een hoog tempo laat ze me de verschillende ruimtes zien. Er is zelfs een aparte ruimte voor informatie over wonen met dementie. In Hong Kong heeft een derde van de mensen van 85 jaar of ouder een vorm van dementie. En het aantal ouderen neemt toe, dus ook het aantal mensen met dementie. Bij deze woningen is voor wat betreft de inrichting extra gelet op voldoende kleurcontrasten. Sabrina wijst op de ramen in het appartement. ‘Hier hebben we speciaal . . . . lees meer van Yvonne Witter
Integrated elderly care network is key to future
An aging population is a challenge for China. At the end of 2018, the number of those age 60 and above was 249.49 million, accounting for 17.9 percent of the total population, while the number of those age 65 and above was 166.58 million, representing 11.9 percent of the total population. According to the China National Committee on Aging, by 2030, the number of people age 60 and above in China will reach 370 million, accounting for 25.3 percent of the total population. By 2053, the number of people 60 and above will touch 487 million, accounting for 34.9 percent of the total population. Due to the country's family planning policies, a majority of Chinese families have faced a situation in which two breadwinners have had to care for four elderly people while raising one child, which weakens the family's ability to care for the elderly. At the same time, China's eldercare industry lacks institutional support, and there is a gap between urban and rural areas. The long-term care insurance system is still in the pilot stage, and the development of the eldercare industry is hindered by a lack of institutional support and funds. A large number of young laborers from the countryside have moved to the cities, leaving elderly people unattended in rural areas. This results in an increase in the aging population in rural areas compared with urban areas. Therefore, it is extremely important to build a medical care system to respond to the problem. In the next 10 years, we need to speed up the building of an elderly care and medical service system and enact suitable laws and regulations. First, we should strengthen the convergence of eldercare and medical service policies, for which we need to explore the establishment of an integrated medical care system. An eldercare and medical service system can meet diverse needs of the elderly population and integrate resources such as families, communities, hospitals and elderly care institutions. We should expand . . . . . read more
China issues new documents to implement Healthy China 2030 initiative
The State Council, China's cabinet, has issued a new guideline to implement the country's Healthy China initiative and promote people's health. With a focus on disease prevention and health promotion, the guideline proposed 15 special campaigns to "intervene in health influencing factors, protect full-life-cycle health and prevent and control major diseases." An action plan for 2019-2030 devised by a newly-established State Council special committee was also made public Monday, specifying the objectives and tasks of each campaign, as well as the responsibilities of different actors in the campaigns. Major health concerns in society, including psychological health, student myopia, child obesity and cancer, will be covered by the campaigns. The General Office of the State Council also released a plan on the organization, implementation and appraisal of the campaigns. Read more . . . . China Daily
