Integrated physical and mental management for China’s elderly: insights from Long-gang District, Shenzhen

China is in a period of rapid population aging. The total population of the elderly aged 60 and above in mainland China was 264 million in 2020, and is the country with the largest elderly population in the world, which is home to 1/5 of the world’s older people. The urgency of actively coping with...

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Main Authors: Xun qiang Wang, Ce ce Yang, Xi ling Sun
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2024-02-01
Series:Frontiers in Aging
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fragi.2024.1361098/full
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author Xun qiang Wang
Ce ce Yang
Xi ling Sun
author_facet Xun qiang Wang
Ce ce Yang
Xi ling Sun
author_sort Xun qiang Wang
collection DOAJ
description China is in a period of rapid population aging. The total population of the elderly aged 60 and above in mainland China was 264 million in 2020, and is the country with the largest elderly population in the world, which is home to 1/5 of the world’s older people. The urgency of actively coping with the aging population has never been greater, and China has raised it to the height of national strategy. To this end, China has issued several plans and projects on aging work. Many of them include multiple overlapping components. The management of physical illness and mental illness in the elderly is over-differentiated and segmented. However, it is common for older adults with complex health problems. The body and mind are inherently integrated and interact with each other, and should not be separated. There is an urgent need for integrated healthcare services for the physical and mental health of the elderly population. The national basic public health services play an important role in early detection and awareness of health problems for the elderly in community health services. This paper introduces the elderly health management services, one of the national basic public health projects, and the psychological care project for the elderly in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China. Taking Long-gang District’s exploration of the joint management of physical and mental health of the elderly as an example, this review discusses the difficulties of the elderly health work, and the feasibility of integrating the elderly mental health and physical health in medical care. We outlook to build an integrated platform for physical and mental health of the elderly in China. Focus on the needs of older population, strengthen community health services, build a integrative team, fully publicize and improve health literacy of the elderly, link up and down and work together, improve coordination between providers of medical care and social services. It is of great significance to construct a strong public health system for the elderly and promote the realization of the grand goal of Healthy China.
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spelling doaj.art-77ba7b0f37b94c8e94b872a8793903912024-02-06T05:01:48ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Aging2673-62172024-02-01510.3389/fragi.2024.13610981361098Integrated physical and mental management for China’s elderly: insights from Long-gang District, ShenzhenXun qiang Wang0Ce ce Yang1Xi ling Sun2Longgang Center for Chroinc Disease Control, Shenzhen, ChinaLonggang Center for Chroinc Disease Control, Shenzhen, ChinaShanghai Huangpu Mental Health Center, Shanghai, Shanghai, ChinaChina is in a period of rapid population aging. The total population of the elderly aged 60 and above in mainland China was 264 million in 2020, and is the country with the largest elderly population in the world, which is home to 1/5 of the world’s older people. The urgency of actively coping with the aging population has never been greater, and China has raised it to the height of national strategy. To this end, China has issued several plans and projects on aging work. Many of them include multiple overlapping components. The management of physical illness and mental illness in the elderly is over-differentiated and segmented. However, it is common for older adults with complex health problems. The body and mind are inherently integrated and interact with each other, and should not be separated. There is an urgent need for integrated healthcare services for the physical and mental health of the elderly population. The national basic public health services play an important role in early detection and awareness of health problems for the elderly in community health services. This paper introduces the elderly health management services, one of the national basic public health projects, and the psychological care project for the elderly in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China. Taking Long-gang District’s exploration of the joint management of physical and mental health of the elderly as an example, this review discusses the difficulties of the elderly health work, and the feasibility of integrating the elderly mental health and physical health in medical care. We outlook to build an integrated platform for physical and mental health of the elderly in China. Focus on the needs of older population, strengthen community health services, build a integrative team, fully publicize and improve health literacy of the elderly, link up and down and work together, improve coordination between providers of medical care and social services. It is of great significance to construct a strong public health system for the elderly and promote the realization of the grand goal of Healthy China.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fragi.2024.1361098/fullelderlyagingphysical healthmental healthpublic healthhealth management
spellingShingle Xun qiang Wang
Ce ce Yang
Xi ling Sun
Integrated physical and mental management for China’s elderly: insights from Long-gang District, Shenzhen
Frontiers in Aging
elderly
aging
physical health
mental health
public health
health management
title Integrated physical and mental management for China’s elderly: insights from Long-gang District, Shenzhen
title_full Integrated physical and mental management for China’s elderly: insights from Long-gang District, Shenzhen
title_fullStr Integrated physical and mental management for China’s elderly: insights from Long-gang District, Shenzhen
title_full_unstemmed Integrated physical and mental management for China’s elderly: insights from Long-gang District, Shenzhen
title_short Integrated physical and mental management for China’s elderly: insights from Long-gang District, Shenzhen
title_sort integrated physical and mental management for china s elderly insights from long gang district shenzhen
topic elderly
aging
physical health
mental health
public health
health management
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fragi.2024.1361098/full
work_keys_str_mv AT xunqiangwang integratedphysicalandmentalmanagementforchinaselderlyinsightsfromlonggangdistrictshenzhen
AT ceceyang integratedphysicalandmentalmanagementforchinaselderlyinsightsfromlonggangdistrictshenzhen
AT xilingsun integratedphysicalandmentalmanagementforchinaselderlyinsightsfromlonggangdistrictshenzhen