Living experience and care needs of Chinese empty-nest elderly people in urban communities in Beijing, China: A qualitative study

BackgroundEmpty-nest elders have considerable needs for daily living, health care, and social support in China. The growing need for care of an aging population requires to be met through adequate policy decision making by government.AimTo explore care needs of Chinese empty-nest elderly people and to provide reference information for relevant authorities in making care-supporting policies.MethodA descriptive qualitative study design was adopted. Twenty-five senior citizens in urban communities who were not living with their children were recruited from three communities in different districts of Beijing. In-depth interviews with a semi-structured questionnaire were used to collect data. A qualitative content analysis method was used to analyze data.ResultsA major care need by the empty-nest elderly was home-based care. In view of their physical condition, need of support and their own security problems, they would like to have aging-in-place, home-based care by housemaid employment, or have institutionalized care in the future. However, they had some concerns about institutionalized care.ConclusionsA combination of home-based and community-based care is a suitable mode of care for the empty-nest elderly, and institutionalized care is an expected supplementary form of care.