In the context of an aging population, China’s elderly care market is experiencing a period of significant transformation. The demand for care for disabled and demented elderly people continues to grow, placing higher demands on the existing elderly care model. This study focuses on the home-based and institutional elderly care models, employing the PEST (political, economic, social, and technological) analysis framework to explore the operational characteristics, economic sustainability, and major challenges faced by the home-based and institutional elderly care models. The study found that in China, home-based elderly care occupies a mainstream position due to policy support and the influence of traditional concepts, but there are some changes such as a shortage of nursing resources, insufficient community support, and a low penetration rate of smart elderly care. Institutional elderly care offers distinct advantages in terms of professional nursing and the integration of medical care with elderly care. However, its affordability and market coverage are constrained by factors such as high costs, high consumption, mismatches between bed supply and demand, and disparities in regional development. Additionally, although the tax incentives in the elderly care market help reduce the cost of institutional elderly care, it is still difficult to alleviate the pressure on its operating costs. The affordability of some high-end elderly care institutions for ordinary families is still limited.
Xun Song (Tue,) studied this question.