Crisis in China's elderly care as nurses are hard to find

 24-Aug-16, Shanghai Daily

In a nation that traditionally sees the family as the primary care giver, care homes for China’s elderly are in their infancy and face a litany of problems.

Image: Shanghai Daily

There were more than 200 million people aged over 60 in 2015, accounting for over 16 percent of the total population.

To tackle the shortage of nurses, the Ministry of Education and eight other government departments issued a joint circular in July 2014, encouraging colleges to set up majors related to elderly care, including elderly health and nutrition, the psychology of aging, geriatric nursing and bioethics.

While many graduates spurn nursing jobs, nursing homes prefer workers without diplomas, as they have more experience and are paid less.

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