Willingness for community-based and institutional eldercare among older adults: a cross-sectional study in Zhejiang, China

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the proportion of willingness for community-based and institutional care and their correlating factors among older adults in Zhejiang Province, China. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: The Sixth National Health Service Survey, carried out in Zhejiang, China. PARTICIPANTS: 7300 eligible older adults aged 60 years or older. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES: Willingness for community-based and institutional eldercare. RESULTS: The average age of the participants was 69.0±7.3 years. 50.9% of the participants were males, and 49.1% were females. 19.2% came from urban areas and 80.8% were from rural areas. The percentage of willingness for community-based and institutional eldercare was 2.7% and 3.8%, respectively. The corresponding figures for females were 2.9% and 3.5%, respectively, and for males were 2.5% and 4.1%, respectively. Factors positively associated with willingness for community-based eldercare included living in urban areas, high educational attainment, more frequent active exercise and living alone. Factors positively associated with willingness for institutional eldercare included age, living at urban areas, high education attainment, more frequent active exercise and receiving assistance with daily living. CONCLUSIONS: Family eldercare was the priority for older adults compared with community-based and institutional eldercare in Zhejiang. The willingness for community-based and institutional eldercare among older adults was affected not only by the older adults themselves, but also by community and family members.