scholarly journals The Development of Time Banking in Hong Kong

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 47
Author(s):  
Fanny YF Young

This literature review paper examined the development of time banking in Hong Kong. Time banking is a system of transaction using time. Members of a time bank can earn time credits through work which they can spend these credits later. Time banking has become an international movement with participants included people in different age groups, local businesses, staff from participating organizations and even the organizations themselves. This diversity of time banking systems in different areas showed modifications of time banking systems can increase their uses, functions and effectiveness, and also can improve their versatility so as to provide tailor-made applications on different problems in different situations. Although around half a century has passed after the first time bank appeared (Miller, 2008), there was only one time bank in Hong Kong involving the elderly care service and the number of participants were less than 200 (Tsui, 2018; Ho, 2018; Lee, 2018). To improve this situation it is necessary to see whether it is possible to modify the present time banking system so that more extensive and effective applications can be provided. The present paper will address this gap of knowledge through proposing a time banking system on young people with the novel time credit multiplier concept with an aim to alleviate the serious and ever increasing manpower shortage problem of the elderly care services in Hong Kong.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hungyi Chen ◽  
Yuan-Chia Chu ◽  
Feipei Lai

BACKGROUND Time banking is a good mechanism to provide elderly care in community services with members having mutual benefits, besides social welfare and out-of-pocket fee payment mechanisms. With further integration with off-line works, mobile time banking may provide a better way, compared to traditional web access. On the other hand, blockchain technology has been long encountering difficulty in integrating with real-world economies or activities. Development of a mobile time banking system on blockchain (MTBB) may provide a realistic solution for community elderly care. Besides, the tracking mechanism from blockchain technology itself may also help track the elderly care service transaction records in order to measure better Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by United Nations (UN). OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to develop the MTBB, which enables tracking service transaction records in community elderly care through mutual helps. METHODS The MTBB was developed to empower organizations, either Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) organizations, or Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs), to issue time tokens of their proprietary token types to the members who participate in the volunteer activities organized by the organizations respectively. In the service activities, members sign in and sign out before and after the services by using a smartphone app, and then get the time tokens afterwards. Members with time tokens can then exchange time tokens for elderly care services using the same smartphone app. MultiChain is used as the blockchain technology stack, as one of its features to support multiple token types is critical. RESULTS Database applications with smartphone apps integrated with MultiChain were developed. The whole set of the database schema was integrated with two smartphone apps, one for members, and the other for organizations, in addition to the two backend operations modules, one for organizations, and the other for managing all organizations and members. The MultiChain wallet was also integrated into the member app, as well as the organization backend modules for keeping track of the service transactions and time tokens. Metadata with the service transaction information is stored in the MultiChain blocks so that the transaction records are immutable and can thus be analyzed in the future. CONCLUSIONS The twelve characteristics of Cahn’s time banking are the guidelines of developing this MTBB with integration of MultiChain blockchain technology for tracking service transaction records. The study also combines the 1-to-1 member service exchange with organizations holding volunteer activities and issuing proprietary time tokens. With the blockchain transaction tracking mechanism, all of the elderly care service records through or within organizations can be tracked and analyzed to align with UN’s five SDGs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 275 ◽  
pp. 03003
Author(s):  
Yi Ding ◽  
Zhe Zhang ◽  
Meiyun Yang ◽  
Fengqi Sun

This research focuses on a service acquisition mode for parents in urban separated families of China to promote the popularization of elderly care services in Internet economy. Based on interviews and questionnaires, authors find the pain point of the elderly care service acquisition mode and propose a tripartite participatory mode. Using this new service acquisition mode, adult children can play an assistant role with a smartphone-based service purchase platform. Next, in order to determine what services should be provided priorly on the platform, an empirical study based on questionnaires and KANO model is carried out to screen a propriate services items. Through the innovation of new elderly care service acquisition mode, more practitioners are supposed to expands their business effectively in aging market, and to play an ever more active role in the growth of Internet economy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 139-145
Author(s):  
Mengna Li ◽  
Liyun Wu

In order to solve the problem of imbalance resource allocation and service income in the elderly care service industry, this article establishes three service income models in different situations for a single provider and a single integrator while considering the quality as well as government subsidies. The results showed that government subsidies can significantly improve quality efforts and service income with a mutual restriction between quality and service income. Government subsidies would have an impact on the quality, and they are more conducive to the service income of providers. When government subsidies are less than 80% of the service income, the incentive effect is better.


2021 ◽  
Vol 233 ◽  
pp. 01168
Author(s):  
Aijia Song ◽  
Zhaoqi Peng

2020-2050 is a period of rapid development of China's population aging, and it is also a critical period for the country to actively respond to population aging. Under the background of the combination of medical care and nursing, institutional elderly care services, as an important branch of the multi-level elderly care service system, have become the main battlefield of the integrated medical and elderly care policy. Therefore, institutional care talents for the aged have also become a key link in improving the quality of life of the elderly population. This paper using trend extrapolation model to predict the needs of elderly care talents in institutions in Beijing, including nursing staff who provide basic living care and professional medical staff who provide services such as rehabilitation, medical treatment, nutrition, and psychological consultation. The results show that, in 2050, the demand for institutional elderly nursing staff in Beijing will exceed 150,000, and the demand for institutional elderly medical staff will reach about 20,000.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 1469-1479
Author(s):  
Zhang Zehao ◽  
Wang Xinting ◽  
Xie Linling

Objectives: Studies show that the harm of smoking is much higher in the elderly than in the young and middle-aged. Therefore, smoke-free communities are more suitable for the elderly. China’s ministry of civil affairs pointed out that, the development of community elderly care services conforms to the wishes of over 90% of the elderly in China, which is the focus of the construction of China’s elderly care service system. Meanwhile, China’s existing smoke-free community elderly care service models are diverse, service efficiency and sustainability remains uneven. Methods: This study constructed a conceptual framework for smoke-free community elderly care service based on the theory of welfare pluralism. To find the sustainability of smoking control in smoke-free communities and the efficiency of elderly care service supply under different supply modes. According to the geographical location, 9somke-free communities in Beijing, Nanjing and Xi’an were selected for investigation. Results: Three supply modes of community-based elderly care services are summarized, including Multiactor Participation Model (MPM), Government and Social organization Cooperation Model (GSCM), and Government-led Participation Model (GPM). The case analysis method is used to analyze the characteristics of the supply actors, supply content, and supply methods of these three models. Conclusion: Three supply modes of community-based elderly care services are summarized, including Multiactor Participation Model (MPM), Government and Social organization Cooperation Model (GSCM), and Government-led Participation Model (GPM). The MPM for smoke-free community elderly care, which includes the participation of multiple subjects and is more diversified in terms of supply content and methods, is found to have better smoking control efficiency and higher sustainability.


Author(s):  
Artie W. Ng ◽  
Tiffany C. H. Leung ◽  
Jacky C. K. Ho

The purpose of this book chapter is to explore the similarities and differences in the development of performance measures and accreditation systems for the quality assurance of elderly care service providers of Asian and Western origins, focusing on Hong Kong, Macau, Australia and Canada. Building on a proposed theoretical framework, this study utilizes a multiple-case study method to examine the influencing factors for the accreditation approach adopted by a jurisdiction. The findings suggest that the quality assurance of the elderly care service operators of the Asian origins as selected appears to lag behind those of the Western countries and undergo their own peculiar paths of development. Thus, Hong Kong and Macau could learn from the practical experience of Australia and Canada in terms of their concerted approaches for funding, accreditation and assessments under an increasingly market-driven service sector in which the well-being of the end-users needs to be adequately protected.


Author(s):  
Wing Shan Kan ◽  
Ernest Chui

Abstract There has been considerable interest in the concept of consumer-directed care (CDC) for ageing populations. One type of CDC employs vouchers that older people can use to procure a panel of social services that best fits their needs. The voucher-based strategy has been institutionalised in Hong Kong as the Community Care Service Voucher for the Elderly (CCSV). Using a qualitative, semi-structured interview method, researchers probed the experiences of two groups (twenty-six CCSV users and twenty-seven CCSV non-users) with the voucher programme between March 2014 and September 2015 during the first phase of CCSV. The interviews revealed a set of social and institutional supports needed to empower clients to effectively utilise the voucher. These supports (or forms of capital) were consistently present amongst active CCSV users and deficient amongst non-users. The research demonstrates that instituting a voucher does not, by itself, lead to optimised choices but, rather, that a network of institutional and social resources must be assembled in support of the voucher programme. In some instances, a case management approach may be needed, as older people (and family) need to combine different forms of institutional and social support to comprehend the voucher programme and utilise it for their particular needs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 41
Author(s):  
Yi-Luo Wang ◽  
Ying Duan ◽  
Ying Zhang

With the increase of the aging of the population in china, the demand of the elderly continues to increase, which has brought great challenges to the elderly care service industry. As a new type of elderly care service, home-based care services directly affect the quality of the elderly’s health and daily life in their later years. Therefore, improving the product and quality of elderly care services has become the goal and purpose of the development of home-based care service for aged. This article uses Cite Space software to perform visual analysis of keyword clustering on existing literature, and concludes that scholars focus on the integration of medical care, social elderly care service system, service quality, and influencing factors, but the impact of service quality models and indicator systems is low. Then through the integration and induction of scholars’ research progress on home care services, existing problems in service quality, and service quality evaluation index systems, in order to continue to innovate on the basis of existing knowledge, improve the service quality index system, and focus on combing process indicators with outcome indicators effectively, thereby improving the quality of community home care services.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gigi Lam

PurposeHong Kong implements a policy for the aging population involving the core themes of “aging in place as the core,” “institutional care as backup” and “continuum of care.” Encouraging elders to live independently at home is a top priority, and elders who are not able to live at home independently are provided with various residential care services, namely Hostels for the Elderly, Homes for the Aged, Care and Attention (C&A) Homes for the Elderly and Nursing Homes (NHs). The purpose of this paper is to analyze the adoption of the publicly funded model of providing residential care services of elderly in Hong Kong.Design/methodology/approachThe paper analyzes the current conundrum encountered by elders in residential care services and makes recommendations. A comprehensive literature review was conducted covering relevant government reports, academics' journal papers and nongovernmental organizations’ reports concerning residential care service of elderly from 1965 to present.FindingsSubsidized residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs) clearly outperform private RCHEs in terms of space and staff provisions, but the supply of subsidized RCHEs cannot meet the demand. Hence, between 2007 and 2018, the average waiting time was 33 months for NHs and that for C&A homes was 23 months. Several viable measures to meet the demand are purchasing Enhanced Bought Place Schemes (EBPSs) from private RCHEs, subsidizing elders who opt for living in private RCHEs by providing them with Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) and residential care service voucher (RCSV) and subsidizing elderly applicants who opt for living in RCHEs in Guangdong. However, these viable measures are problematic because of the inadequate quality of EBPSs and private RCHEs, which is attributed to the costing arrangement of public and private RCHEs that were established in the colonial period. The brief history of RCHEs also indicates a deviation from the original policy aim, namely aging in place, which was introduced in the Green Paper on Services for the Elderly in 1977.Practical implicationsThe supply and quality of community and home care services should be thoroughly examined; effective community and home care services can prevent and even delay unnecessary institutionalization. Another complementary solution is to devise a long-term plan for residential care services. To address disparities in quality standards in different RCHEs, adopting the combination of punitive and compliance models such as conducting frequent inspections and implementing an accreditation system for private RCHEs is imperative.Originality/valueAlthough the principle of “aging in place” originated in 1977, the institutionalization rate 6.8% of elders was unexpectedly high in Hong Kong and even surpassed the Asian counterparts. It necessities to rethink how to implement policy concerning long-term care services of elders.


2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masaya Yasuoka

Purpose An increase in life expectancy brings about an aging society, necessitating increasing demand for elderly care services. The purpose of this paper is to present an examination of: how an aging society affects the demand for elderly care services and the labor market for elderly care services; how the labor share and wage inequality between the final goods sector and elderly care sector are determined; and whether the subsidy for elderly care service increases demand for elderly care services or not. Design/methodology/approach This paper sets the dynamics general equilibrium model with two sectors model: one for final goods sector and the other for elderly care services. This paper derives how the labor supply for elderly care services is determined in the theoretical model. In addition to analytical research works, this paper examines how the subsidy for elderly care service affects the labor share allocated for elderly care sector and wage inequality between the final goods sector and the elderly care sector with the numerical examples. Findings Related reports of the literature describe that an aging society raises the share of labor dedicated to elderly care services. However, considering a closed economy in which saving affects the capital stock, an aging society does not always raise the share of labor used for elderly care services because the wage rate of the final goods sector increases with an aging society. This effect prevents the increase of the labor supplied to elderly care services. On the other hand, the subsidy for the elderly care service raises the labor share of elderly care sector. Research limitations/implications The related literatures derive that an aging society raises the labor share allocated for elderly care sector. However, the paper shows that the subsidy for elderly care plays an important role in the increase in the labor share of elderly care sector. Practical implications This paper examines how the aging society affects the labor share of elderly care sector, wage inequality between final goods sector and elderly care sector and others with numerical examples. Thanks to the numerical examples, this paper derives the quantitative result and shows how the subsidy for elderly care service should be provided. Originality/value The author thinks that this paper has rich implications and originality. There exists no literature that examines how the labor share of elderly care sector and the relative wage rate of elderly care sector are determined by the aging and the subsidy for elderly care service. The author thinks that it is a very important analysis because many economically developed countries face the aging society problem.


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