Author Archives: Samuel

China: Injury Prone?

Written by Samuel. Posted on April 6, 2010. Filed under China, News Items, Public Health. 1 Comment.
safetycop
It appears to me that perhaps some of the resources spent telling citizens to "stop spitting" and "start queuing" could be put to better use by telling road users to "buckle up" and mining companies to "follow health and safety regulations."

The rural life and time of China’s elderly, Part IV: Limiting Catastrophe

Written by Samuel. Posted on January 28, 2010. Filed under China, News Items. 3 Comments.
The primary issue of migration is the near-crisis statistic regarding levels of eldercare needed from 2030. Throwing money at the problem will not solve it alone. A sophisticated private investment and rural development programme would result in a sustainable solution that could possibly avert disaster. Although it could be argued that it is too late and the Chinese government should focus on damage limitation.

The Rural Life and Times of China’s Aging Population, Part III: Institutional Problems

Written by Samuel. Posted on January 27, 2010. Filed under China, Public Health. 7 Comments.
Subtle, we know.
While one might simply point at the above discussed brain drain the real culprit might be the hukou system. The hukou system is a household registration system which, among other things, is used to calculate health insurance requirements and analyze the needs of the local population. Rural-urban migrants are not registered in the hukou system. Thus they are not included in urban health insurance schemes and are ignored when making resource allocation decisions. Health policy is based solely on the local registered population.

The rural life and times of China’s aging population, Part II: Caregivers and Psychologocial Outcomes

Written by Samuel. Posted on January 26, 2010. Filed under China, News Items, Public Health. 12 Comments.
Consequences of migration not only have the potential to shift rural health profiles in the short term, but will undoubtedly cause a demographic change in urban areas. Filial piety motivates families to stay together in the countryside, thus it also motivates migrated families to stay in the city. As the urban migrants begin their families, they will eventually age and remain in the city. These two trends seem to run counter to one another. The elderly parents of the migrants are likely to be left behind if their children stay in cities with their families. While some elderly will undoubtedly move to the city, the high costs of a move, both monetary and physical, as well as the regulatory complications involved (see hukous in the next instalment), will preclude the majority of elderly from doing so.