Today’s Research on Aging Population （今天的研究老化的人口）.pdfVIP

Today’s Research on Aging Pr o g r a m a n d P o l i c y im P l i c at i o n s Issue 20, July 2010 China’s Rapidly Aging Population Over the past two decades, China’s population has been China’s population has grown substantially over the last 20 aging rapidly. As a result of China’s “one-child” policy and years. By 2000, China’s population ages 65 and older was low mortality, the proportion of elderly citizens will contin- almost 90 million, and the elderly could number well over ue to grow very quickly, increasing the stress on an already 300 million by 2050 (Figure 1). The cohort of oldest-old troubled health care system. was 12 million in 2000 and, by 2030, could number over 40 The Division of Behavioral and Social Research at the million (Kincannon, He, and West 2005). National Institute on Aging (NIA) supports research on the Growth of China’s elderly population is happening at a health of China’s elderly population. This work has contrib- time of rapid increase in urbanization and industrialization, uted to understanding the characteristics of China’s oldest- all of which have weakened traditional family support net- old (ages 80 and older) and the dilemmas in meeting their works (Jackson 2010). Because of a limited institutional care health care needs. This newsletter reviews some recent system, China’s elderly have predominantly received care in research—both NIA-sponsored and other research—that the home; only 2 percent are institutionalized. The elderly explores these challenges. living in institutions are more likely t