Quality of Life and Old Age Social Welfare System for the Rural Elderly in China

Abstract

China launched new rural social endowment insurance in 2009 in order to guarantee the basic livelihood of rural elderly. This study explores the quality of life for the Chinese rural elderly in this context. The survey was conducted in Jiangsu province and its content included four critical aspects: physical health, economic status, elderly care, and loneliness. Six hundred and sixty four (664) elders aged over 60 were investigated between July and August 2010. Our findings reveal that a portion (16.2%) of rural elderly people were still in poor health condition, those over 80 years were particularly in need of healthcare and medical payment tended to be more socialized. Besides, most of the rural elderly had little monetary support and their living standards were comparatively low. Child support, agricultural income, and rural pension were their main sources of livelihood. The functional ability of self-care declined gradually with aging. Although the families basically met their caring needs, there is lack of concern on this aspect by the local communities. A considerable proportion (12.5%) of rural elderly often felt lonely and majority of them were short of entertainment activities. According to these findings, adequate attention for rural elders’ living situation should be emphasized by improving the old-age social welfare system in China.