Abstract:
Objective To analyze the staffing levels and personnel structure of elderly care institutions in China from 2014 to 2022, assess their equity and spatial distribution, and provide recommendations for optimizing the allocation of human resources in these institutions.
Methods Panel data on employees in elderly care institutions from 31 provinces in China were collected. Changes in the proportion of male and female employees, the proportion of professional and technical personnel, and the proportion of employees aged 65 and older were calculated for each province from 2014 to 2022. The Theil index and Dagum Gini coefficient, weighted by the elderly population, were used to assess trends in equity and their decomposition effects. Global and local Moran′s I were employed to calculate the spatial clustering of human resources in elderly care institutions across China.
Results The total number of human resources in elderly care institutions increased by 68.92%, but the number of staff per thousand elderly people showed a negative growth trend. In 2022, the proportion of employees with a bachelor′s degree or above was 8.42%, the proportion of professional and technical personnel was 75.23%, the proportion of employees aged 56 and older was 20.45%, and the proportion of female employees was 62.36%. The regional equity of human resource allocation in elderly care institutions improved, with the overall Theil index decreasing from 0.11 in 2014 to 0.05 in 2022, and the Dagum Gini coefficient decreasing from 0.41 in 2014 to 0.39 in 2022. Spatial autocorrelation analysis revealed a positive spatial clustering trend for human resources in elderly care institutions. The global Moran′s I increased from 0.273 in 2014 to 0.390 in 2022 (P < 0.01 for each year). Local Moran′s I scatter plots showed "high-high" and "low-low" clustering patterns among regions.
Conclusions The total human resources in China′s elderly care institutions lag behind the growth of the elderly population. While equity has improved, there is a trend of positive spatial clustering. Future efforts should focus on both expanding capacity and improving quality, increasing the proportion of highly qualified and skilled personnel, and promoting inter-regional mobility of human resources in elderly care institutions.