Characterizing stakeholders of aging-in-place through social network analysis: a study of Nanjing, China

Abstract

China currently has an elderly population of 249 million with over 97% of them ending up aging in place. Although various regional pilot programs have been conducted, a sustainable aging-in-place system has not been established to effectively and efficiently provide aging services in many cities of China. The characteristics of stakeholder networks in the aging-in-place systems have not attracted great attention from researchers. This research applies social network analysis to characterize the interactions of stakeholders in aging-in-place systems to facilitate cooperation and coordination amongst them. Using Nanjing as a case study, 23 stakeholders in Nanjing’s aging-in-place system are identified, such as the Aging Affairs Committee, Aging-in-Place Service Association, and aging-in-place service centers; and then the relationship networks of these stakeholders in terms of communication, supervision, and trust are developed and analyzed. The results show that the aging-in-place system suffers from certain defects, including the loose connection of government departments, redundant information channels, low trustworthiness of certain aging-in-place service centers, poor credibility of third-party training and assessment institutions, and excess power of the industry association. To tackle these issues, a wide spectrum of actionable measures applicable to Nanjing’s conditions, as well as high-level policy implications for other cities of China, are proposed for augmenting the communication, supervision, and trust among stakeholder groups.