Lijuan Gu1, Mark W Rosenberg2, Juxin Zeng3. 1. Hubei Key Lab. for Geographical Process Analysis and Simulation, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, Hubei, China; Department of Geography and Planning, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada; Hubei Provincial Development and Reform Commission/Central China Normal University, Research Institute of Two-Oriented Society Construction in Wuhan Urban Agglomeration, Wuhan 430079, Hubei, China. Electronic address: gulijuan25@mails.ccnu.edu.cn. 2. Department of Geography and Planning, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada. Electronic address: mark.rosenberg@queensu.ca. 3. Hubei Key Lab. for Geographical Process Analysis and Simulation, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, Hubei, China; Hubei Provincial Development and Reform Commission/Central China Normal University, Research Institute of Two-Oriented Society Construction in Wuhan Urban Agglomeration, Wuhan 430079, Hubei, China. Electronic address: zengjuxin@mails.ccnu.edu.cn.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: In the transitional stage of socioeconomic development, the traditional practice of home-based care in China is being tested. The evolution and factors of home-based care utilization are the prerequisites for the formulation of a support policy. However, no extant research has studied home-based elder care on a national scale. AIM: This paper aims to examine changing caregiving relationships nationwide for home-based elderly individuals and investigate the changing factors of care utilization in a ten-year period, with special attention to the effects of "location" on care patterns. METHODS: The data come from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS). Andersen and Newman's behavioral model is employed as the theoretical framework for this research. The trends in care use from 2002 to 2011 are explored and multilevel multinomial analyses are performed to investigate the changing factors of care patterns between 2002 and 2011. RESULTS: From 2002 to 2011, China saw a sharp decrease in children as caregivers, a significant increase in spousal caregivers, and a gradual decrease in other caregivers. Compared to 2002, the effects of the predisposing and enabling factors are more important than the need factors in 2011. Location and the interactions of the north-south divide and the urban-rural divide had a significant effect on care patterns. CONCLUSIONS: From 2002 to 2011, there was a decline in the traditional values-advocated care system and the elderly had to rely more on their own resources to find caregivers. In the design of a support program, there is an urgent need for policy makers to take social inequality among elderly individuals and the effects of location into consideration.
BACKGROUND: In the transitional stage of socioeconomic development, the traditional practice of home-based care in China is being tested. The evolution and factors of home-based care utilization are the prerequisites for the formulation of a support policy. However, no extant research has studied home-based elder care on a national scale. AIM: This paper aims to examine changing caregiving relationships nationwide for home-based elderly individuals and investigate the changing factors of care utilization in a ten-year period, with special attention to the effects of "location" on care patterns. METHODS: The data come from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS). Andersen and Newman's behavioral model is employed as the theoretical framework for this research. The trends in care use from 2002 to 2011 are explored and multilevel multinomial analyses are performed to investigate the changing factors of care patterns between 2002 and 2011. RESULTS: From 2002 to 2011, China saw a sharp decrease in children as caregivers, a significant increase in spousal caregivers, and a gradual decrease in other caregivers. Compared to 2002, the effects of the predisposing and enabling factors are more important than the need factors in 2011. Location and the interactions of the north-south divide and the urban-rural divide had a significant effect on care patterns. CONCLUSIONS: From 2002 to 2011, there was a decline in the traditional values-advocated care system and the elderly had to rely more on their own resources to find caregivers. In the design of a support program, there is an urgent need for policy makers to take social inequality among elderly individuals and the effects of location into consideration.