Corresponding Author

Xiaoting Xu, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China, xxt9337@163.com

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Smart community provides opportunities to develop the elder care system with information technologies for elderly people. Most existing studies on elder care system are from the macro level and there lacks practical development in this area, especially has ignored diversified elderly people’s health needs. This study tried to investigate the elderly people’s health needs by conducting interviews in two smart communities (Sanli community and Tieli community in Hefei city, Anhui province). We have interviewed 16 older adults and 16 of their grown-up children in the communities. With the help of Nvivo12, health needs about elderly people are coded into 57 free nodes and 8 tree nodes elderly people, which are further divided into four aspects based on the social support angle, information needs, instrument needs, substance needs, and emotion needs. Finally, we developed the health service system of smart communities from the subjects and functions of social support perspective. Through this study, we can better understand health needs of older adults and provide references for the development of health services in smart communities

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