Question

What sorts of demographic changes seem likely to shift the demand for nursing home care?

Answer 1

Nursing home cares are providing residential and caretaking services to the elderly and disabled people. If a population has an excessive number of dependent populations (individuals above the age of 80 years), then the demand for such an institution is likely to rise. For instance, Japan has a median age of 46.4 years, in the coming decade, the percentage of the dependent population would be about 35%. Then in such a case, the demand for the nursing home care facility is likely to surge. This would result in the rise of demand accompanied by a rise in the number of such service providers along with a surge in the level of prices.
According to the theory of demographic transition, such a situation arises in the third stage where the population has stabilized as birth rate along with death rates are reducing. The old-age population should not be witnessed as a burden to the working population. Rather there is a dire need to shift focus from demographic dividend to longevity dividend to capitalize on the experience and the knowledge of elderly people. This could open a new possibility for harnessing the stock of human capital in society.