A Comparative Study On Needs Of Home-based Long-term Care For Urban-rural Elderly In Chongqing

ObjectiveThe goal of the research is to analyze the home-based long-term care needs between urban-rural disabled elderly in Chongqing,providing support for building a home-based long-term care service system for urban-rural disabled elderly.The overall objective of the research is contribute towards the priority of lonely elderly,the oldest-old with low income,elderly people living alone and disabled elderly in old-age security,to provide empirical support for policy makers to put forward to policy suggestions to perfect the elderly care system in Chongqing.MethodsLiterature review method and semi-structured interviews were used to collect qualitative data on the status and needs of home-based long-term care for urban-rural disabled elderly.Questionnaires and data mining methods were used to collect quantitative data.Literature review was conducted to perfect survey questionnaires and specific care service items for urban-rural elderly.Qualitative and quantitative research on long-termcare service needs.Results and Conclusions1.General situation analysisUrban-rural disabled elderly were mainly senior elderly,accounting for39.74%,and the proportion of women was higher than that of men.The educational level of urban-rural disabled elderly was generally low,and rural disabled elderly' s educational level was lower than that of urban disabled elderly.The economical sources of 70.80% of urban disabled elderly were mainly their own or their spouses,and 60.53% of the rural disabled elderly were mainly their children or grandchildren.72.11% of the elderly had chronic diseases,and nearly half of them suffered from anxiety or depression.The mental health of urban-rural disabled elderly is not optimistic,and spiritual care should also be the main part of the elderly' s long-term care services.2.Influencing factors analysisAge,self-care ability,ability to engage in normal activities,walking ability,self-evaluation of health have a significant impact on the long-term care needs of urban-rural disabled elderly.Therefore,senior age,physical function status,and self-evaluation of health should all be included in the factors that affect the content of long-term care for the elderly.3.The similarities and differences of long-term care needs and content of urban-rural disabled elderlyFor urban-rural mildly disabled elderly,the needs and content of long-term care including rehabilitation training guidance,physical examination,medication guidance,home visits,regular home visits by medical staff,health education publicity,and recreational activities.For moderately disabled elderly,the needs and content including food delivery,transportation assistance,housekeeping services,rehabilitation training guidance,physical examination,home visits,regular home visits by medical staff,medication guidance,guiding caregivers,assistance in assisting elderly elder aid,health education propaganda,relieving boredom,recreational activities,psychological counseling;For severely disabled elderly,the needs and content including food delivery,housekeeping services,daily care,transportation assistance,rehabilitation training guidance,physical examination,guiding caregivers,medication guidance,home visits,regular home visits by medical staff,and assistance in assisting elderly elder aid,health education propaganda,relieving boredom,psychological counseling.And the needs and content of rural mildly disabled elderly also including transportation assistance.The needs and content of severely disabled elderly also including the transformation of family facilities.There is a great need for long-term care for urban-rural disabled elderly and there is a certain difference in the needs for long-term care services between urban-rural elderly with different disability levels.SuggestionsIn order to further improve the old-age care service system and improve the quality of life of the elderly,we will propose relevant policy recommendations based on the main factors affecting the needs for long-term care services and the different care services content for urban-rural disabled elderly:(1)Establish scientific assessment criteria to comprehensively assess disabled elderly;(2)Suggest to build care services packages for different levels of disabled elderly according to different care content;(3)Strengthen the management of chronic diseases and do a good job in prevention and control;(4)Pay more attention to mental health of disabled elderly;(5)Introduce relevant policies to guide more professional care staff into elderly care industry.