China's elderly are overwhelmed in online post-pandemic world
Mobile internet-based technology has played an irreplaceable role in helping China's fight against the COVID-19 epidemic, but many elderly in China are facing a considerable dilemma as they navigate the unfamiliar territory of QR codes, mobile payments and digitized information. Although China has almost controlled the disease outbreak, people still need to present their health QR codes that record their recent whereabouts. Green health QR codes are mandatory for entering public places, using public transportation and traveling. The health QR code system – based on big data – has been proved a highly useful tool for containing the contagion. However, accessing the code can be a problem for many elderly people who have poor digital skills or no internet access, as they don't use smart phones or dont even own a mobile phone. Recently, video footage of a senior citizen who was unable to show his health code and argued with the staff at a metro station in Dalian in northeast China's Liaoning Province has triggered widespread debate on social networking sites. Following this, the Dalian Metro reflected on the inadequate services for such special groups. The old man also apologized for his temper when stopped at the subway station's gate. According to the Statistical Report on Internet Development in China, China has 904 million internet users by March 2020, with a 64.5 percent penetration rate. However, the proportion of internet users aged 60 and above . . . . read more on CGTN
Virtual nursing homes: A new way to care for China's elderly
As the degree of population aging deepens, "virtual nursing homes" – a new model of home care that makes full use of social resources – are becoming the choice of more and more elderly people in China. The Chinese National Development and Reform Commission and 22 other departments jointly issued the "Implementation Opinions on Promoting Capacity Expansion and Quality Improvement of Consumption and Accelerating the Formation of a Strong Domestic Market" on March 13, 2020, proposing to vigorously develop the "internet + social services" consumption model and support the development of community-based virtual nursing homes. Over the past 10 years, virtual nursing homes have been promoted in many places in the country, exhibiting expanding service groups, diversified service content, and prominent intelligent features. The elderly want to live at home. However, while their children are willing to take care of them, they suffer from lack of time and energy. Virtual nursing homes seem to be providing a solution to the problem. With just one phone call, the nursing home can provide various services for the elderly at home, from buying vegetables and cooking to cleaning, from massage services to accompanying the sick, so that the elderly can enjoy "personal customized elderly care" without leaving home. In the virtual nursing home in . . . . . read more
China’s Hidden Crisis: A Growing Elder Care Gap
Huang Ernan knows the live-in caretaker she hires to look after her elderly mother isn’t really up to the job. At 73 years old, the woman is only a few years younger than Huang’s mother, who is 85. And she often lacks the focus required to provide good care to a patient who has suffered multiple strokes over recent years. On one occasion, the caretaker left the house without locking the door, allowing Huang’s mother to wander off down the street. Other times, she failed to help her client after she’d wet the bed — an issue that became so common, Huang eventually started buying her mother adult diapers. Huang, however, has no intention of firing the woman. In her home city of Shanghai, finding a replacement would be far from easy. The eastern metropolis is ground zero for China’s elder care crisis, offering a glimpse into the pressures that could impact other cities as the country’s population rapidly ages. By 2050, one-third of China’s citizens will be aged 60 or over — a demographic transformation that threatens to create deep social and economic challenges. But in Shanghai, the future has already arrived: The country’s most elderly megacity has 5.2 million residents aged over 60 — over 35% of the registered population. Access to elder care services has become a hot-button issue for Shanghainese. Demand has far outstripped supply over recent years, leaving families like Huang’s with few good options. In 2012, there were fewer than three nursing home beds for every 100 elderly residents in Shanghai. And despite government pledges to provide thousands of extra beds by 2022, the problem remains equally acute today. Many downtown facilities have waiting lists stretching well over a year. Shortages of in-home caretakers — who do the vast majority of care work in the city — are even more severe. A decade ago, surveys suggested Shanghai needed an extra 550,000 domestic workers to meet its elder care needs. Since then, wages for caretakers have more than tripled, but the problem has only worsened. For many families, hiring a low-skilled domestic helper through . . . read more at SIXTH TONE
From WeChat to Taobao, China's elderly are embracing big tech
Netease technology news, january 2 news, according to japanese media reports, more and more chinese elderly people are using mobile phone applications such as wechat and taobao to embrace big technology. In the process of rapid digital transformation, China's elderly people are not lagging behind. Like many Chinese, Xu Chang browses e-commerce websites on his mobile phone every day, chats with friends on wechat, and uses Gaud maps to travel the roads of Beijing. When the cold snap hit, he stayed at home and ordered takeout through the delivery app. But Xu Chang isn't a millennial, he's an 80-year-old pensioner. After reading an article about Alibaba founder Jack Ma and his e-commerce empire five years ago, Xu couldn't help downloading Alibaba's Taobao app. These apps not only make Xu's life more enjoyable, but also enable him to help others. He said: Relevant statistics show that by 2018, China's population aged 65 and above has reached 166.6 million. The rapid digital transformation once worried that many elderly people might not be able to adapt to the new technology and may be behind the times. China currently has more than 4 million applications, but few of them are dedicated to the elderly. However, there is evidence that the elderly in China are not alienated by digitalization. Instead, like Xu Chang, they are embracing new technologies. Tang Yanhang, an empty nester who lives in Changchun, is a good example. Because of living far away from his daughter, Tang once needed to go home alone with a heavy shopping bag. But after learning how to use the e-commerce app in 2017, the 64-year-old only shopped online, waiting for the courier to deliver the goods to himself. Zhong Peicheng, from Henan province, can also use WeChat to keep in touch with his sons. Mr. Zhong,59, treated his hometown, while his sons worked in the construction industry in Guangdong, thousands of kilometers away, only once a year. But According to a report released by Tencent last January, about 63 million people aged 55 and over use wechat in China. Although the figure sounds impressive, less than 6% of wechat monthly active users are Chinese seniors. In another study, Tencent pointed out that about half of the 800 elderly Chinese surveyed in 2017 used wechat payment or other electronic wallets. The proportion of the elderly who have online shopping or online consultation experience is relatively low. The elderly in China are also keen to help each other. In fact, Tang Yanhang, who lives in . . . read more Nikkei Asian Review
Elderly-care stations introduce facial recognition
By getting their faces scanned, senior citizens in a downtown aging community can enjoy a wide range of services. The Jing’ansi Subdistrict in Jing’an District, where more than 40 percent of residents are over 60, has set up seven elderly-care service stations. Every station has a facial recognition machine which allows seniors to have their faces scanned to enjoy services related to health care, mental support, entertainment and legal aid, among others areas. According to subdistrict officials, elders usually forget to carry ID cards and other valid documents, and some don’t know how to use smart phones. Now, they don’t need to take anything with them. After having their faces scanned, they can directly make appointments for house cleaning, meal delivery or foot care. And the fees are automatically calculated. Besides, the subdistrict has set up a team of 26 elderly-care consultants. The consultants are professionals from local elderly-care facilities and volunteers from grassroots elderly-care groups in the subdistrict. They will tell senior citizens about . . . . read more
China's evolving senior care sector; opportunities and challenges for Canadian care providers and business
Like many countries in North America, Europe, and Asia, China is facing the problem of an aging population. In 2017, 240 million Chinese were over the age of 60 – about 17% of the population. And this number is expected to grow, reaching about 35% of the population by 2050. As Chinese society ages, medical problems, particularly chronic diseases, abound. But, amid a growing demand for senior care services, the existing system to support China’s elderly is insufficient. The Chinese government has taken active measures to tackle this problem. Since the previous decade, there has been a “double movement” in state response to social problems in China. After three decades of fast-paced economic reforms, the government has withdrawn from a policy of retrenchment in welfare, committing substantive resources to provide subsidies to poor and rural populations, including seniors. But, simultaneously, it has also altered existing regulations to allow for the operation of private actors in the delivery of services to China’s more affluent urban residents, especially senior care and health-care services. The combination of increasing demand for high-quality care and the Chinese government’s policies to invigorate private delivery of senior care services, including by foreign companies, creates . . . . . read more here.
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