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

Background:Empty-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.Aim:To explore care needs of Chinese empty-nest elderly people and to provide reference information for relevant authorities in making care-supporting policies.Method:A 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.Results:A 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.Conclusions:A 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.

Empty-nest elderly:mahjong and Chinese square dance for improving the cognitive function in the community

Objective: The elderly population has proliferated worldwide. The empty-nest family pattern has become predominant among the aging people, and they are more vulnerable to the development of cognitive disorders. However, there is no standardized service in the community nursing care that includes procedures on how to improve the cognitive function of the elderly. Meanwhile, the booming number of empty-nest elderly stimulates the community nurses to assume the responsibility for their care. All of these bring more difficulties and opportunities for community nurses who are dedicated to the prevention of geriatric cognitive disorders.Methods: The authors reviewed the literature related to "empty-nest elderly", "cognitive function","mahjong",and "Chinese square dance" in the Elsevier, Web of Science(WOS), China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI), Springer and PubMed databases. The study illustrates the utility possibility of an efficient and straightforward method for improving the cognitive function among the elderly in the context of community nursing care in China and even in the rest of the world.Results: Mental and physical activity contributes to cognitive fitness and may be beneficial in delaying cognitive decline. Mental activities, such as playing mahjong, and physical activities, such as the Chinese square dance, are common Chinese activities. Both of them can affect cognitive function in some way.Conclusions: China is experiencing one of its most severe aging problems. Community health personnel and related professionals may consider using mahjong and Chinese square dance to promote psychological health in empty-nest elderly individuals in the community.

Analysis on Long-Term Care and Influencing Factors of Empty-Nest Differently Abled Elderly People in China —Based on the Data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey

Purpose: This study aimed to understand the actual needs of empty-nest differently abled elderly people and analyze their long-term care status including the factors affecting choice of care mode so adequate resources can be allocated to meet their healthcare needs. Methods: An empty-nest group was compared with a non-empty-nest group based on data from the 2014 Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey. Individual characteristics, family characteristics, and sociological factors were considered as independent variables, and long-term care model was the dependent variable in the three binary logistic regression method. Results: Age, gender, marriage, and disability were the most important factors influencing the choice of long-term care mode, including the willingness of the differently abled elderly. Family care can no longer meet the needs of the severely disabled elderly. Long-term care for such elderly people should be undertaken by professional and specialized social institutions. Conclusion: Multi-level services should be provided according to the elderly peoples’ needs, and the skill and expertise of professional personnel of care institutions should be strengthened. The government should deploy fund-raising initiatives, actively use the power of non-governmental organizations, and strive to resolve the financial issues faced by the empty-nested elderly people with disability.

The prevalence of depression among the empty-nest elderly in China:a meta-analysis of cross-sectional studies

Empty-nest elderly are those who have no children or whose children are away from home,and they have to live alone or with their spouses.The prevalence of depression in the elderly is worrying,especially in the empty-nest elderly.This study aimed to examine the prevalence of depression among the empty-nest elderly in China and explore the factors that influence depression among the empty-nest elderly.Methods:We searched both international(PubMed,Cochrane Library,Embase,and Web of Science)and Chinese(CNKI,WanFang,SinoMed,and VIP)databases from their inception date until 12 April,2020,and collected cross-sectional studies on the prevalence of depression among the empty-nest elderly in China.Two reviewers independently screened the literature,extracted the data,and evaluated the risk of bias included in the study.Meta-analysis was performed using Stata12.0 software.Results:Twenty-seven cross-sectional studies were included in the meta-analysis.The pooled prevalence of depression among the empty-nest elderly in China was 41%(95%CI:32%–50%).Subgroup analysis revealed that the Geriatric Depression Scale versions,sampling methods,living areas,gender,age,chronic diseases,and living arrangements were associated with the prevalence of depression among the empty-nest elderly in China.Conclusions:The prevalence of depression among the empty-nest elderly in China was relatively high.Researchers could explore more reasons for the differences in the prevalence of depression among the empty-nest elderly from multiple perspectives in the future.Relevant departments should identify and routinely evaluate the negative emotions of the empty-nest elderly.Meanwhile,community nurses should care for the emotional needs of the empty-nest elderly,carry out targeted mental health education,and promote the realization of healthy aging.