Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T18:44:11.119Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Receipt of informal care in the Chinese older population

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2016

BO HU  and
SAI MA
BO HU*
Affiliation:
Personal Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU), Department of Social Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK.
SAI MA
Affiliation:
Department of Social Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK.
*
Address for correspondence: Bo Hu, Personal Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU), Department of Social Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This paper examines the factors affecting the receipt of informal care among older people in China. It uses the second wave data of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey, which collected ageing and health-related information on a nationally representative sample of 8,906 older people aged 60 and over in 2013. Apart from the factors that have been examined in the contexts of developed countries, the paper further investigates two factors specific to Chinese society: rural–urban residence and regular financial assistance from children. Based on binary and multinomial logit regression analyses, the research findings are threefold: the determinants of receiving informal care differ remarkably according to the sources of care; disability and living arrangements are the most important determinants; rural–urban residence plays a vital role in the Chinese context, but regular financial assistance from children makes little difference. It is estimated that 53 million older people are receiving informal care each year, a figure equivalent to the entire population of England. With continuous population ageing, Chinese society will face huge pressure to meet the demand for social care among older people in the future. The Chinese government needs to build a well-rounded welfare system that tackles this challenge from multiple dimensions. The formal care services should aim to complement informal care in the short run and reduce inequality in social care in the long run.

Keywords

informal caredisabilitypopulation ageingChina
Type
Articles
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 38 , Issue 4 , April 2018 , pp. 766 - 793
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agree, E. M. 1999. The influence of personal care and assistive devices on the measurement of disability. Social Science and Medicine, 48, 4, 427–43.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Anderson, R. M. 1995. Revisiting the behavioural model and access to medical care: does it matter? Journal of Health and Social Behaviour, 36, 1, 1–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beesley, L. 2006. Informal Care in England. King's Fund, London.Google Scholar
Cai, F. 2012. Is there a ‘middle-income’ trap? Theories, experiences and relevance to China. China and World Economy, 20, 12, 49–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Central Committee of the Communist Party of PRC 2015. The 13th Five-year Plan of China. Xinhua News Agency, Beijing. Available online at http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2015-11/03/c_1117027676_7.htm [Accessed 17 November 2015].Google Scholar
Chan, C. K., Ngok, K. L. and Phillips, D. 2008. Social Policy in China: Development and Well-being. The Policy Press, Bristol, UK.Google Scholar
Cheung, C.-K. and Kwan, A. Y.-H. 2009. The erosion of filial piety by modernisation in Chinese cities. Ageing & Society, 29, 2, 179–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clements, L. 2015. The Care Act 2014 Overview. Jordan Publishing, London. Available online at http://www.jordanpublishing.co.uk/system/redactor_assets/documents/499/Care-Act-2014-briefing.pdf [Accessed 8 May 2015].Google Scholar
Comas-Herrera, A., Wittenberg, R. and Pickard, L. 2010. The long road to universalism? Recent development in the financing of long-term care in England. Social Policy and Administration, 44, 4, 375–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dujardin, C., Farfan-Portet, M.-I., Mitchell, R., Popham, F., Thomas, I. and Lorant, V. 2011. Does country influence the health burden of informal care? An international comparison between Belgium and Great Britain. Social Science & Medicine, 73, 8, 1123–32.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Feng, Z., Liu, C., Guan, X. and Mor, V. 2012. China's rapidly ageing population creates policy challenges in shaping a viable long-term care system. Global Health, 31, 12, 2764–73.Google ScholarPubMed
Fernandez, J.-L., Forder, J., Trukeschitz, B., Rokosova, M. and McDaid, D. 2009. How can European states design efficient, equitable and sustainable funding systems for long-term care for older people. Policy Brief 11, World Health Organisation Europe, Copenhengen.Google Scholar
Glaser, K., Stuchbury, R., Tomassini, C. and Askham, J. 2008. The long-term consequences of partnership dissolution for support in later life in the United Kingdom. Ageing & Society, 28, 3, 329–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hirst, M. 2001. Trends in informal care in Great Britain during the 1990s. Health and Social Care in the Community, 9, 6, 348–57.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hu, B. and West, A. 2015. Exam-oriented education and implementation of education policy for migrant children in urban China. Educational Studies, 41, 3, 249–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kemper, P. 1992. The use of formal and informal home care by the disabled elderly. Health Services Research, 27, 4, 421–51.Google ScholarPubMed
Larsson, K. and Silverstein, M. 2004. The effects of marital and parental status on informal support and service utilisation: a study of older Swedes living alone. Journal of Aging Studies, 18, 2, 231–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, B. 2014. Social pension unification in an urban China: paths and constraints. Public Administration and Development, 34, 4, 281–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, X. and Zhang, W. 2013. The impacts of health insurance on health care utilisation among the older people in China. Social Science & Medicine, 85, May, 59–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lu, B., Liu, X. and Piggott, J. 2015. Informal long term care in China and population ageing: evidence and policy implications. Population Review, 54, 2, 28–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Macintyre, S., Ellaway, A., Der, G., Ford, G. and Hunt, K. 1998. Do house tenure and care access predict health because they are simply markers of income or self-esteem? A Scottish study. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 52, 10, 657–64.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McFadden, D. 1979. Quantitative methods for analysing travel behaviour of individuals: some recent development. In Hensher, D. A. and Stopher, P. R. (eds), Behavioural Travel Modelling. Croom Helm, London, 279–318.Google Scholar
Ministry of Civil Affairs of PRC 2014. Statistical Report of Social Services Development 2014. Ministry of Civil Affairs of People's Republic of China, Beijing. Available online at http://www.mca.gov.cn/article/sj/tjgb/201506/201506008324399.shtml [Accessed 9 September 2015].Google Scholar
Murphy, C. M., Whelan, B. J. and Normand, C. 2015. Formal home-care utilisation by older adults in Ireland: evidence from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA). Health and Social Care in the Community, 23, 4, 408–18.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
National Bureau of Statistics of PRC 2014. Migrant Worker Monitoring Report. National Bureau of Statistics, Beijing. Available online at http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/zxfb/201405/t20140512_551585.html [Accessed 18 November 2015].Google Scholar
National Bureau of Statistics of PRC 2015. Development of Population and Employment Statistics. National Bureau of Statistics, Beijing.Google Scholar
National People's Congress of PRC 2004. The Constitution of the People's Republic of China. State Council of People's Republic of China, Beijing. Available online at http://www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2004/content_62714.htm [Accessed 25 September 2015].Google Scholar
National People's Congress of PRC 2013. The Law on Protection of the Rights and Interests of Older People of the People's Republic of China. State Council of People's Republic of China, Beijing. Available online at http://www.gov.cn/flfg/2012-12/28/content_2305570.htm [Accessed 25 September 2015].Google Scholar
Office for National Statistics UK 2015 a. Annual Mid-year Population Estimation, 2014. Office for National Statistics, London. Available online at http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_406922.pdf [Accessed 18 November 2015].Google Scholar
Office for National Statistics UK 2015 b. Population Estimates by Marital Status and Living Arrangements, England and Wales, 2002 to 2014. Office for National Statistics, London. Available online at http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-397745 [Accessed 19 January 2015].Google Scholar
Pattison, J., Mcpherson, K., Blakemore, C. and Haberman, S. 2012. Life Expectancy: Past and Future Variations by Gender in England & Wales. Longevity Science Advisory Panel. Available online at http://www.longevitypanel.co.uk/_files/life-expectancy-by-gender.pdf [Accessed 11 November 2015].Google Scholar
Peek, K., Coward, R. T. and Peek, C. W. 2000. Race, aging and care: can differences in family and household structure account for race variation in informal care. Research on Aging, 22, 2, 117–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pickard, L., Wittenberg, R., Comas-Herrera, A., Davies, B. and Darton, R. 2000. Relying on informal care in the new century? Informal care for elderly people in England to 2031. Ageing & Society, 20, 6, 745–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robertson, R., Gregory, S. and Jabbal, J. 2014. The Social Care and Health Systems of Nine Countries. King's Fund, London.Google Scholar
Ruan, Y., Si, X., Song, L. and Tang, Y. 2015. Jiyu xitong donglixue de ‘dandu erhai’ zhengce fangzhen yanjiu [Selective ‘two-children’ policy research based on system dynamics simulation]. Renkou Xuekan [Population Journal], 37, 5, 5–17.Google Scholar
Rubin, D. B. 1987. Multiple Imputation for Nonresponse in Surveys. John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, New Jersey.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Silverstein, M., Cong, Z. and Li, S. 2006. Intergenerational transfers and living arrangements of older people in rural China: consequences for psychological well-being. Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 61B, 5, S256–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Solon, G., Haider, S. J. and Wooldridge, J. 2013. What Are We Weighting For? NBER Working Paper 18859, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge. Available online at http://www.nber.org/papers/w18859 [Accessed 24 October 2015].CrossRefGoogle Scholar
State Council of PRC 2011. Guomin jingji he shehui fazhan shierwu guihua gangyao [The Twelfth Five-year Outline of Development in National Economy and Social Development]. State Council of People's Republic of China, Beijing. Available online at http://www.gov.cn/2011lh/content_1825838_2.htm [Accessed 25 September 2015].Google Scholar
State Council of PRC 2013. Guowuyuan guanyu jiakuai yanglao fuwuye de rugan yijian. [Views on Development of Elderly Care Sector]. State Council of People's Republic of China, Beijing. Available online at http://www.gov.cn/zwgk/2013-09/13/content_2487704.htm [Accessed 25 September 2015].Google Scholar
Suanet, B., Van Groenou, M. B. and Van Tilburg, T. 2012. Informal and formal home-care use among older adults in Europe: can cross-national differences be explained by societal context and composition? Ageing & Society, 32, 3, 491–515.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ten Ministries and Commissions of PRC 2013. Guanyu quanmian tuijin jujia yanglao fuwu gongzuo de yijian. [Views on Promoting Home-based Elderly Care]. Ministry of Civil Affairs of People's Republic of China, Beijing. Available online at http://www.mca.gov.cn/article/zwgk/fvfg/shflhshsw/200802/20080200011957.shtml [Accessed 25 September 2015].Google Scholar
Vlachantoni, A., Shaw, R. J., Evandrou, M. and Falkingham, J. 2015. The determinants of receiving social care in later life in England. Ageing & Society, 15, 2, 321–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walker, A. 2002. A strategy for active ageing. International Social Security Review, 55, 1, 121–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wittenberg, R., Comas-Herrera, A., King, D., Malley, J., Pickard, L. and Darton, R. 2006. Future demand for long-term care, 2002 to 2041: projections of demand for long-term care for older people in England. PSSRU Discussion Paper 2330, Personal Social Services Research Unit, London School of Economics, London.Google Scholar
Wong, Y. C. and Leung, J. 2012. Long-term care in China: issues and prospects. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 55, 7, 570–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wu, L. 2013. Inequality of pension arrangements among different segments of the labour force in China. Journal of Ageing and Social Policy, 25, 2, 181–96.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zhan, H. J. and Montgomery, R. J. V. 2003. Gender and elder care in China: the influence of filial piety and structural constraints. Gender and Society, 17, 2, 209–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhao, Y., Strauss, J., Yang, G., Giles, J., Hu, P., Hu, Y., Lei, X., Liu, M., Park, A., Smith, J. P. and Wang, Y. 2013. China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study: 2011–2012 National Baseline Users’ Guide. National School of Development, Peking University, Beijing. Available online at http://charls.ccer.edu.cn/uploads/document/2011-charls-wave1/application/CHARLS_nationalbaseline_users_guide.pdf [Accessed 5 September 2015].Google Scholar
Zhou, J. and Walker, A. 2016. The need for community care among older people in China. Ageing & Society, 36, 6, 1312–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zimmer, Z. and Kwong, J. 2003. Family size and support of older adults in urban and rural China: current effects and future implications. Demography, 40, 1, 23–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar