Elderly Population In The Elderly

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Background The percentage of population aged 65 and over has increased significantly over the last few decades. According to the Population Census, it increased from 8.7 percent in 1991 to 11.1 percent in 2001, and project to 27 percent in 2033. The prolonged lifespan is one of the contributing factors. The life expectancy at birth was 75 years for men and 81 years for women in 1991 to 78.2 for men and 84.1 for women, and project to 82.3 for men and 87.8 in 2033. These trends naturally have implications to the care for people in their later life. For many generations, the elderly Chinese expected to be taken care of by their own families, especially their adult children. As the elderly population has increased in size and has achieved a longer…show more content…
The suggestion was to set aside some units in each estate for “those who want to live as singletons or married couples, and not join up with other elderly people”. Secondly, the Working Party stressed “We see no merit in moving the elderly from the environment which is familiar to them, unless they themselves are looking for a change”. Thirdly, in the design of housing for the elderly, the Working Party held the view that “insufficient attention is paid in the design of housing (for example in the design of stairways, bathrooms, kitchens) to the particular needs of the elderly, such as physical handicaps and…show more content…
Other studies also found that little attention in the past had been given to the planning of facilities in public housing estates to meet the recreational and cultural needs of the elderly. Elderly tenants were thus often seen idling around in public housing estates or using facilities, like basketball pitch, not built for their use. It can be foreseen with the adoption of the universal design, public housing residents would no longer find it necessary to move to another unit when they grow old or become frail. Better planning that takes the needs of the elderly into consideration would also ensure that elderly residents could have an environment catering for their interests. At 2006 Jan, the Government has commissioned a review on the “Design Manual: Barrier Free Access 1997” which sets out the obligatory and recommended requirements for provision of a barrier-free built environment for people with disabilities and other sectors of the population, who do at times require the same provision as people with

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