title: The "leap forward" in nursing home development in urban China: future policy directions.
abstract: In the past decade, the number of nursing beds in China has increased annually by an average of 10%, reaching 4.3 million in 2013. Although the State Council pushed for further increases to a ratio of 30 nursing home beds per 1000 persons by 2015, service utilization, quality assurance, and regulatory oversight are the inherent challenges in developing an equitable long-term care (LTC) system that can safeguard older persons' rights. We review and analyze both laws and policies in light of demographic and socioeconomic changes and advocate 3 policy directions for LTC development in China: allocating LTC resources with comprehensive eligibility criteria, with particular consideration of family needs; establishing viable quality standards for outcome-driven evaluation; and highlighting standardized monitoring mechanisms in both institutional and home LTC settings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Work and Social Administration, the University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Michelle H Y
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Shum
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Work and Social Administration, the University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China; Sau Po Centre on Ageing, the University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address: wlou@hku.hk.
authors.forename: Vivian W Q
authors.initials: VW
authors.lastname: Lou
authors.affiliation: Sau Po Centre on Ageing, the University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Kelly Z J
authors.initials: KZ
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Sau Po Centre on Ageing, the University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Coco C H
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Work and Social Administration, the University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Junfang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002681:China; D005544:Forecasting; D006291:Health Policy / Q000639:trends*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000639:trends*; D014504:Urban Health
keywords: Nursing home; long-term care; policy; urban China