Date and Time
December 15, 2004
3:30 PM - 5:00 PM

Availability
Open to the public
No RSVP required

Speaker
Ming Wu

China has the world's largest population as well as its largest elderly population. The number of the elderly people has increased rapidly, especially the number of people over 80 years old. Countries in the West experienced a long period of population aging, generally accompanied by economic growth, and these countries therefore had ample time to prepare, along with the economic ability to react to the problems of population aging. In China, however, the situation is quite different. The aging trend in China took place during a time of economic stagnation.

Moreover, since the 1970s, China's "one child per family" and "open door" policies have brought about great changes in the country. Traditional values have been challenged, resulting in societal shocks. The structure of the family has changed. As a result, the ability of families to support and care for the elderly has inevitably weakened. At the same time, the existing social safety network for the elderly at the national level has been weakened, but new networks have not been effectively established. Elderly people in urban China therefore face a situation in which they are getting less help from both traditional informal social support, as well as from formal social support.

These changes have had a negative impact on the elderly in many respects, including healthcare utilization. As a result, a significant proportion of the elderly now have less access to basic health care. Even so, little attention has been paid to the healthcare status and utilization of the elderly in China, thus highlighting the need for research in this area.

At this special seminar, Wu Ming will present her research project for the China-U.S. Health and Aging Research Fellowship. The project analyzed household survey data for 2,110 households and 3,011 elderly people residing in a district of urban Beijing in 2003. The project's aims are: (1) describe the status and utilization of health care for the elderly in urban Beijing, (2) identify the major factors influencing it, and (3) discuss possible policies that may improve access to health care for the urban elderly.