Now that the first generation of parents who were affected by China's birth control policies, which started in the late 1970s and early 1980s, are starting to get older, their future health care needs should start to be addressed, said Wu Haixia, a research fellow with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, writing in news portal The Paper.
The preference for many parents in urban areas is for their child to take care of them, but this is not always possible. Then community-based health services or residential homes may have to step in, but these are often not at the level required. In her research, more than 30 percent of parents with one child said they need community-based services, such as entertainment and catering.
Meanwhile, more than 40 percent of urban respondent parents above 60 years old expressed their willingness of moving to nursing homes in the future. However, the reality is that most of the existing nursing homes are either poorly equipped or too expensive.
People's health status and income level will determine which services are chosen, but generally people prefer to use community-based nursing services. These should fully consider the health status of the elderly, improve the quality of their services and meet the individual needs of people who have complex health issues. Local governments should both monitor the quality of these services and provide subsidies for those who cannot afford them, and plan for the future when demand will be greater than it is now. The key is to provide customized services based on health status and income of the seniors.