Comparative Study Of Integration Of Elderly Care With Medical Services In Nursing Institutions In China&USA

This paper makes a comparative analysis of integration of elderly care with medical services in nursing institutions in China and the United States,with an intention to propose suggestions for healthy development of integration of elderly care with medical services in nursing institutions China.This paper mainly uses four research methods:namely documentary method,field study method,case analysis method and comparative method,to complete the comparative study of integration of elderly care with medical services provided by nursing institutions in China and the United States.The paper consists of nine chapters.In this paper,nursing institutions are referred to as those that provide centralized housing and care services for the elderly.Integration of elderly care with medical services means combination of medical and nursing resources into one system to provide services such as medical treatment,rehabilitation,nursing,health preservation and elderly care,etc.To start,it outlines documented elderly care with medical services provided by related institutions recorded in ancient Chinese local chronicles.Related institutions for the aged are referred to those that provided housing and care for the elderly in ancient times.Based on 2000 kinds of ancient local chronicles,more than ten kinds of related institutions for the aged,such as Nursing Homes,Puji Hall,Retention Bureau,Puji Hospital,Residential Nursing Homes,Comfort Nursing Homes,Guanghui Hospital,Lonely Garden,Futian Garden,Liji Hospital,Shelter Institution,Salvation Hospital,Beitian Institution,Beitian Hospital,Beitan Patient Ward and Common House have been sorted out.Some of the related nursing institutions had the function of providing medicine and medication.They had clear divisions of doctors,pharmacists and other medical personnel.They set up special medical services departments such as pulse diagnosis department,pharmacy dispensing ward,pharmacy stacking house,pharmacy storage house,pharmacy manufacturing facilities and so forth,to ensure medical assistance and protection to be in place to aid elderly living.This paper also classifies and summarizes the contents related to health preservation recorded in traditional Chinese medical books and literature,which are regarded as being suitable for integration of elderly care with medical services.The author has looked up and consulted 60 series of ancient classical books on health preservation of traditional Chinese medicine,and classified them into nine categories of health preservation:emotional,dietary,medicinal diet,eating-habit,living,stretching exercises,massage and seasons.By using the bibliometric method,this paper analyzes the questionnaire on integration of elderly care with medical services in nursing institutions in China and the United States.In order to get a clearer and wider understanding of integration of elderly care with medical services in nursing institutions in China and the United States,Chinese and English versions of“QUESTIONNAIRE ON INTEGRATION OF ELDERLY CARE WITH MEDICAL SERVICES IN NURSING INSTITUTUTION”were designed respectively.A total of 101 copies of valid questionnaire were collected from China and 11 from the United States.This paper analyzes five categories of the basic information of nursing institutions,namely,the basic information of the elderly residents,the general information of integrated elderly care with medical services,the general information of the medical staff,and the understanding of integrated elderly care with medical services.It is revealed that the biggest difference between the nursing institutions in China and the United States is that traditional Chinese medical services and Chinese medicine are widely provided in Chinese nursing institutions.Traditional Chinese medicine,diet therapy,medicine bath,acupuncture,massage,Taijiquan,Baduanjin and other traditional Chinese medicine contents,being an important part of integration of elderly care with medical services,have tremendous advantages in the health care of the elderly.This paper expounds the field study surveys the author has conducted on integration of elderly care with medical services provided by 40 nursing institutions in China and the United States.The author visited 16 nursing institutions in six provinces in China and 24 nursing institutions in three states in the United States.The author has made an in-depth observation and exploration on their basic status,medical services,rehabilitation,nursing,medical system and medical care technology.Typical cases have been selected for classification and analysis,which are divided into four types:namely "Medical Care Services Driven By Nursing Institutions","Nursing Institutions Driven By Medical Care Services Providers","Medical Care Services Providers Driven By Real Estate Developers" and "Nursing Institutions Driven By Their Own Characteristics".This paper compares and analyzes integration of elderly care with medical services that are provided in Chinese and US nursing institutions.By comparing the results of the questionnaire and findings of the field study surveys in China and the Uni ted States,it concludes that the majority of the contents of integration of elderly care with medical services in nursing institutions in China and the United States are basically the same,with a small number of differences in their own characteristics.This paper compares the information of the nursing institutions,their basic medical services,rehabilitation,nursing,medical system and medical technology,and analyses their similarities and differences.This paper analyses the problems existing in integration of elderly care with medical services provided by Chinese nursing institutions.First,most of the domestic nursing institutions lack a unified understanding of what it really means by integration of elderly care with medical services.Second,the definition,the connotation and extension of integration of elderly care with medical services have neither been clear nor standardized inside and outside the elderly care industry.Third,domestic nursing institutions currently lack the necessary classifications of medical care services needed by their elderly residents.Fourth,there is a serious hidden shortage of professionals specialized in the integration of elderly care with medical services in Chinese nursing institutions.Fifth,integration of elderly care with medical services provided by the domestic nursing institutions is more or less characterized by paying more attention to "medical treatment and medicine”than“maintenance and prevention".Suggestions are proposed as follow:First,to standardize the understanding of elderly care with medical services in nursing institutions.Second,to learn the best practices from the United States and adopt the " activities dai ly living"maintenance system.Third,to real ize classi fications of elderly care and medical services.Fourth,to overcome the shortage of health care professionals for the elderly.Fifth,to create integration of elderly care with medical services model of giving equal importance to "health maintenance and prevention" and "medical services".Finally,following the four innovative principles,namely,using the past for the present,serving China' s needs with foreign experiences,simplicity and practicality,and giving equal attention to health maintenance/prevention care and medical services,this paper selects and organizes 130 items from Chinese ancient health maintenance and medical literature,and the survey data of the studied nursing institutions in China and the United States,to form a new innovative model that is suitable,practical and applicable to improving the capacity and level of integration of elderly care with medical services in Chinese nursing institutions.The innovative highlights of this paper:It is the first survey comparison of integration of elderly care with medical services between Chinese and US nursing institutions.This is the first in-depth survey that records the field trip studies of Chinese and US nursing institutions.It is the first exploration of elderly care and medical services provided by institutions related to the elderly in ancient China.It is the first paper to propose the creation of the new four innovative principles and a new integration model of elderly care with medical services.The new integration model of elderly care with medical services proposed by this paper has great merits and practical values.