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The need for community care among older people in China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 June 2015

JUNSHAN ZHOU  and
ALAN WALKER
JUNSHAN ZHOU
Affiliation:
School of Criminology, People's Public Security University of China, Beijing, China.
ALAN WALKER*
Affiliation:
Sociological Studies, University of Sheffield, UK.
*
Address for correspondence: Alan Walker, Sociological Studies, University of Sheffield – Elmfield, Northumberland Road, Sheffield S10 2TU, UK E-mail: a.c.walker@sheffield.ac.uk
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Abstract

The social care system of China has come under close scrutiny from policy makers due to the rapid ageing of China's population. Unfortunately, there is very little Chinese research evidence that might be used to plan future service developments. This article is a contribution to filling that gap and it provides essential new information on the expressed demand among older people in China for various community care services. The data are from the 2008 wave of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey. According to the characteristics of the dependent variables, we used Binary Logistic Regression Analysis to analyse the need for community care among older people in China. The results show considerable need for such care, but China is still a developing country and there are insufficient resources to fund a Western-style social care system (even if that was desirable). Thus, it is argued that the development of social care in China should emphasise community-based care, in partnership with families, with institutional care as a last resort. In addition, it is argued that China (and other countries) should introduce measures to prevent the demand for social care.

Keywords

community careolder peopleneedChina
Type
Articles
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 36 , Issue 6 , July 2016 , pp. 1312 - 1332
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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