Exploring Rural Home-Based Elderly Care Service Needs and Constructing a Service System: An Empirical Study Based on Y County, Southern Sichuan

Abstract

Under the dual backdrop of rural revitalization strategy and population aging, the supply and demand contradiction of rural elderly care services in Sichuan Province is prominent. This study takes home-based elderly care services in rural Y County, southern Sichuan Province, as the research object. Using a case study method, it systematically analyzes the similarities and differences in the home-based elderly care service needs of ethnic minorities and non-ethnic minority elderly groups in the region. It also examines the existing supply models, operational mechanisms, and implementation effectiveness of local home-based elderly care services, aiming to propose more targeted and feasible countermeasures for the construction of a home-based elderly care service system in Y County, and to promote a precise match between the needs and services for home-based elderly care in Y County. This study uses a mixed research method (questionnaire survey + in-depth interviews + field observation), and finds that the elderly have an urgent need for services such as security visits and meal assistance, but there are problems such as low service coverage and a shortage of professional personnel. Therefore, it concludes that a four-in-one service network of “government-market-community-family” is needed to promote the equalization of urban and rural elderly care services.