Analysis of the Status Quo of theElder care Industryin Qingdao Cityand Its Influencing Factors

Abstract

The gradually accelerated aging process in China has become alargeobstacle for the sustainability of socioeconomic development. Thus it is urgent to develop elder care industry to meet the increasing needs of caring for the aged. This research is to analyse the current situation of the eldercare industry in Qingdao city, Shandong Province, and to identify the corresponding influencing factorsto provide a reference for developing governmental elder care policies to improve industrial development of elder care. Method: 1,008 research subjects aged 60 and over, from two randomly selected administrative regions of Qingdao City, were surveyedby a stratified random sampling in June and July of 2019. A questionnaire investigation was conducted to determine the respondents’preferencesfor the kinds of care services andto analyze the corresponding influencing factors. There were 1,002 completed questionnaires, of which 559 (55.8%) people selected home-based care, 98 (21.1%) selected community-based care, and 443 (44.2%) chose institution-based care.The multi-factor analysis showed that the risk factorsaffecting options of elder care were: living alone, low income, low pension, and poor mental health (OR > 1 and P<0.05). By contrast,living alonewas a protective factor for the elderly to choose institutional nursing care (OR<1 and P<0.05). Currently, in Qindao city, home-based care remains the primaryoptionof the aged, but the proportion of both community and institution elderly service has increased. Diversified home-based care should be promoted to satisfy the requirement forelder care in the aging society.