CONCERNS ON ELDERLY CARE INSTITUTIONS AMONG CHINESE URBAN ELDERS AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN INDIVIDUALS

−Evidences from Shanghai−

Abstract

The study intended to clarify Chinese urban elders' key concerns toward elderly care institutions as well as their differences in thoughts through questionnaire survey in Shanghai. The result suggested a general positive attitude toward institutional care, and elders valued quality of care, medical convenience, hardware condition and economic cost mostly when choosing facilities. Besides, merits and demerits of institutional care raised by elders indicated their differences in prior concern: benefit of the whole family, individual feeling, material environment or social atmosphere. It was also found that elders’ considerations were significant influenced by their gender, education level and health status.