Advancing long-term care policy and research in China

Abstract

Population aging and rapid socioeconomic changes are weakening family-based elder care while escalating the needs for long-term care services for older adults in China. This book presents insightful analysis and research findings on a wide range of policy-relevant issues related to long-term care for older adults in China.

China’s population is aging at an unprecedented pace. Currently, older Chinese adults aged 65 and over account for approximately 15% (or 208 million) of the total population, a figure projected to exceed 30% (or 390 million) by 2050. Rapid demographic and socioeconomic changes in China are weakening traditional family-based elder care while increasing the demand for long-term care services. This book features a collection of studies that provides timely analyses and fresh insights into a wide range of policy-relevant topics related to long-term care for older adults in China. These topics are explored in the volume’s nine chapters, organized under four main themes: migration, caregiving, and elder care challenges; long-term care service users, frontline workers, and workforce challenges; unmet needs across the care continuum in healthcare, long-term care, and end-of-life care; and long-term care financing. Grounded in a thoughtful analysis of the best available empirical data and employing rigorous and cutting- edge research methods, the findings from these studies contribute to building scientific evidence where it is lacking and support evidence-informed long-term care policymaking and practice to address the mounting challenges of population aging in China.

This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Aging & Social Policy.