Investigation on Satisfaction among Elderly Residents of Senior Homes in China from a Social Marketing Perspective

Abstract

Background: An aging society is a challenge for China with over 200 million adults aged over 60.  In respond to the growing aging population, senior homes become inevitable care model for frail older adults in China.  However, current senior homes seldom consider elderly special needs in their design, construction and operation stages which induce the low level of satisfaction.  Hence, this paper introduces social marketing concept into the senior homes for improving elderly satisfaction.  By adopting social marketing, operators of senior homes provide product (including built environment, healthcare services, social activities and so on) and set price in order to achieve positive behavior of the elders (i.e., satisfaction).Methods: To achieve this, questionnaire survey was conducted with 248 elderly respondents living in senior homes over than 6 months.  Several statistical methods including descriptive analysis, correlation analysis and multiple regression modeling were used to analyze quantitative data.Results: The results identified nine social marketing variables including charge rate, built environment, daily caring services, catering services, medical treatment, cleanliness, recreation activities, library and seminar.  Current findings indicated that (1) most senior homes in China pay attention to improve living environment and healthcare services, but might ignore the importance of charge rate and social activities; (2) all social marketing variables were significantly positively related to elderly satisfaction on senior homes; and (3) charge rate, built environment, daily caring services, catering services, medical services and cleanliness exert positive impact on overall satisfaction of elderly residents.  Conclusion: Social marketing as a growing applied approach in healthcare industry is innovatively introduced to senior homes in China.  By adopting social marketing, Chinese senior homes should investigate elders’ special needs and requirements and provide appropriate living environment and caring services.

Keywords: China; Elders; Satisfaction; Senior Homes; Social Marketing