| Project/Area Number |
15530314
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Sociology
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| Research Institution | Hirosaki University |
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Principal Investigator |
SHIROMOTO Rumi Hirosaki University, Faculty of Humanities, Associate Professor, 人文学部, 助教授 (60302014)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2003 – 2006
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| Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 2006)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥3,400,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,400,000)
Fiscal Year 2006: ¥1,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000)
Fiscal Year 2005: ¥900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000)
Fiscal Year 2004: ¥700,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000)
Fiscal Year 2003: ¥800,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000)
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| Keywords | modern China / population aging / social security / community development and community work / regional disparity / the shift to a market economy / intergenerational relationship / social stratification |
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| Research Abstract |
Field work survey work in large cities like Beijing and Shanghai and in inland medium-size cities like Changchun revealed the following points :
The gap in the quality of life for senior citizens is getting larger. This has been caused by the rising difference in income between social classes.
Urbanization encourages sons and daughters to move into newly developed residential areas. The result is that more and more senior citizens live apart from their children. The impact of urbanization on aging issues has been significant.
More and more people now live in condominiums and have weaker ties to their neighbors. As a result, urban welfare work has not taken root as firmly as city administrators had originally aimed for. Non-profit organizations and volunteers act only under the guidance of the government and are far from being able to carry on spontaneous and active work.
The care of the elderly in nursing homes or other such facilities is not yet fully developed in China. This is because o
… More
f the great shortage of aids and lack of care technology.
Nursing care facilities are just now beginning to arrange the "hardware" necessary, and have yet to begin improving such "software" as human resources.
People in China tend to avoid nursing care facilities. Those rich enough prefer to hire home helpers for their parents. (Differences in the economic power between urban and rural areas enable affluent urbanites to hire such help.)
People in China put their trust in governmental institutions rather than private ones. This is characteristic of people in countries under Communist Party rule. It appears that any full-fledged privatization of welfare services will take many years.
As the market economy matures, polarization and competition is expected to intensify. Private care institutions are not yet in a position to compete in this market.
The government wants private facilities to accept those who need total nursing care. However, what the government is aiming for is not a full-fledged privatization, but privatization under government control.
The reform of social security needs to be carried out simultaneously with drastic reform of the entire medical care system. Improving general medical care is the key to solving senior citizen health and care issues. The key question is how the medical care system can be improved in the midst of the institutional differentiation that is now taking place. Less
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