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Abstract
This paper is an empirical analysis of the choice of residence and health care of the aging population of six (6) representative communities in Beijing, China. The results reveal that the traditional practice of children supporting aging family members is being gradually replaced by alternative caregiving arrangements such as community-based and pension agency services. Based on the investigation, nearly 85% of healthy, abled elders have opted to live independently while some 50% of less healthy seniors have preferred relying on selected community services. Further, although there is a movement away from the traditional caregiving practice, there is much diversity in the health care and residence preferences of seniors.
Keywords: Endowment Mode; Staging; Community Services; Pension Agency, Beijing
Introduction
Due to the rapid transition and development of social and economic conditions in China, policy expectations of elderly lifestyles are being influenced particularly in the area of endowments or assistance in their health and wellness needs (Fang, Qiu et al, 2013). In light of urbanization and other social developments (Cook et al, 2013), the allocation and integration of economic resources in the pension industry that caters to seniors needs a considerable amount of attention and concern, particularly in the areas of health management philosophies, promotion of the concept of healthy life expectancy and choices of health endowment patterns. Yet, reality shows that the elderly care sector has not kept at pace with the rapid development in urbanization and modernization in China (Cook et al, 2013; Knox, 2005). There appears to be a need and an interest in exploring the emergence of systems of caregiving and wellness services to the growing aging population of modern China particularly in urban areas.
Recent studies by Li and Chen (2011) on the living arrangements of Chinese seniors show that a majority of them are no longer opting to spending their senior years living with their children or extended families. On the other hand, co- residency in the family still remains the primary care giving practice, a filial approach whose feasibility is strongly influenced by the number of children there is in the family (Zheng, et al, 2012). According to Guang-Lei and Yong (2014), seniors in China need daily life care assistance such as housekeeping, meal preparation, and emergency call...