[Living Arrangement Intentions of the Elderly and Its Influencing Factors in Western China].

BACKGROUND: China is the country with the largest population of elderly, accounting for more than 17.3% of the total population. The arrival of the so-called "silver wave" has generally reduced the abilities of daily life of the elderly and has continued to increase endowment pressures. Assisting the elderly in China to age successfully is an urgent problem.

PURPOSE: To understand the living arrangement intentions of the elderly in Western China and to provide a reference for the reformation of the social endowment service system.

METHODS: A self-designed questionnaire and Barthel self-care ability scale were conducted on 2,078 elderly people living in Guangxi and Ningxia Provinces in China.

RESULTS: A total of 1,634 participants (78.6%) chose home-based care, 187 (9.0%) chose community care, and 257 (12.3%) chose institutional care. Differences in age, ethnic group, household registration, education level, family monthly income, family income and expenditure situation, and religion all significantly affected living arrangement intention (all p < .05). Logistic regression showed that age, ethnicity, household registration, religion, marital status, family monthly income, and length of hospital stay were all primary factors of influence on the home care intention of the elderly people (all p < .05).

CONCLUSIONS: A significant majority of the elderly in this study expressed an intention to choose home-based care. It will be necessary to build a home-based mode of care that incorporates medical-care functions. In addition, the health service functions of community and institutions should be improved and perfected, as the intention to live in these settings is also growing. Appropriate services should be provided to meet the living arrangement intentions of the elderly in order to start a new era of elderly care customization. Finally, the development and expansion of "Internet Plus" should be leveraged to build a social endowment service system that meets the comprehensive range of elderly-care needs.