Euro-China UPC: Optimising care delivery models to support ageing-in-place: towards autonomy, affordability and financial sustainability - ODESSA

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Population ageing has been recognised for some time in European countries like UK and France. However, this has been acknowledged in China only recently but with more urgency due to the tremendous population size and predicted growth; China will have 64 older people for every 100 workers by 2025. China presents what is, in effect, a different ageing trajectory from European countries, and has unique characteristics shaped by its distinct historical, cultural, economic and political contexts. Recent demographic changes and significant economic transformations have led China to move from a traditional familial dominated elder system of care in which older people are being cared for by the extended family structure, to one which seeks to be based on efficient and sustainable social care support. The importance of building up a long-term care system to adequately and sensitively serve the diverse needs of ageing individuals appears however, self-evident for both Europe and China. In both settings, there is a persistently increasing trend for older people to choose to live independently in their own home (ageing-in-place). In Europe, care provision is being shifted to accommodate this trend, though it is acknowledged that this shift will require investment for homes that provide for independent or semi-independent living and that in doing so, can meet the range of later life physical needs. However, it is probable that targeted investment in adaptation for improved levels of accessibility and in specialised and/or supported housing for older people to live independently for longer in their own homes can lead to substantial cost savings in associated health and long-term care.This research will attempt to contribute to the processes for meeting older people's needs in terms of these changes by exploring the relationships between living arrangement, living environment and the design of care delivery from technological, financial, political and social perspectives. Taking account of the factors that impact on the different ways in which older people in China, UK and France see care delivery, this proposal will build a common framework for the study of care delivery mechanisms and options available to older people that includes consideration of the role of cultural, socio-economic and welfare system dimensions. This will allow scenario building and in-depth comparative analyses among the three partner countries.The study will use a mixed-method design, combining data mining and in-depth analysis, robust measures of the quality of the built environment, together with a participative action research approach to generate the engagement of key stakeholders and a range of qualitative data. It has six work packages which will be conducted in parallel in the three partner countries. The research will provide comparative studies and a synthesis that will inform recommendations to benefit China and Europe. The study will help understand ageing-in-place in the three countries and will identify common features for integrated care under different policy and society circumstances. It will examine the potential of such models, their impact on improvement to the care of older people and finance implications. The involvement of academic and non-academic stakeholders will strengthen the methods, reach and impact of this research.