What the UAE Population Thinks of Aging and Aged Care

Shahed Almarabta, N. Ridge
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Abstract

Compared to other highly developed countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, South Korea, Japan, and Germany, the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) population is young, with a median age of 32.6 years in 20201. By comparison, Germany’s median age was 45.7 years, and Japan’s was 48.4 in the same year. Given these age demographics, public policy in the UAE is currently focused on meeting the needs of youth and working-age individuals below the age of 65, who comprise 98.7% of the total population. Going forward, however, the topic of aged care is becoming a matter of concern. In 2020, only 1.6 people older than 65 were dependent on 100 working-aged people in the UAE. By 2050, however, this number will increase to 18.5, a twelve-fold increase, which will create financial, social, and medical pressures for families and the UAE government. As of 2017, official statistics report that there are approximately only 15,000 Emiratis over the age of 60. Accordingly, provisions for aged care in the UAE remain limited. While some emirates have local entities that offer a range of services to Senior Emiratis2, only two residential aged care facilities are exclusively dedicated to the elderly. In the entire country, Senior Emiratis are thus forced to rely on a limited range of services typically provided by local hospitals, with only a few specialized medical staff. Therefore, the UAE is not yet prepared to cater to the greater number of older people who will exist in the future. In addition to a lack of physical infrastructure, there are also reportedly changing social dynamics, particularly with regard to the decline of the extended family model and the increasing trend toward smaller nuclear families. This will also impact care for the elderly as currently, the majority are cared for at home by their families or with the assistance of housemaids. The UAE, therefore, needs to explore and plan for the creation of a sustainable and effective aged care system. In light of the current scarcity of senior care facilities and lack of research on aging in the UAE, the Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi Foundation for Policy Research has undertaken this study. Its design draws heavily on a study carried out by the Australian Government’s Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. That study focused on significant issues with aged care services in Australia, including their quality and person-centeredness, and how best to deliver such services to a wide range of people. We have modified the Australian survey to explore the following areas in the UAE: (1) population attitudes towards older people, (2) knowledge and perceptions of aged care, and (3) Emiratis’ experiences, expectations, and preferences for older age. This survey was answered by 2,375 individuals, divided between 2,074 Emiratis and 661 non-Emiratis, with 49% of respondents being female and the remaining 51% being male. The findings are discussed in the Strategic Report.
阿联酋人对老龄化和老年护理的看法
与美国、英国、澳大利亚、韩国、日本和德国等其他高度发达国家相比,阿联酋的人口较为年轻,2018年的平均年龄为32.6岁。相比之下,同年德国和日本的平均年龄分别为45.7岁和48.4岁。鉴于这些年龄人口统计数据,阿联酋的公共政策目前侧重于满足65岁以下的年轻人和工作年龄个人的需求,他们占总人口的98.7%。然而,展望未来,老年护理的话题正在成为一个令人担忧的问题。2020年,阿联酋只有1.6名65岁以上老人依赖100名工作年龄人口。然而,到2050年,这一数字将增加到18.5,增加了12倍,这将给家庭和阿联酋政府带来经济、社会和医疗压力。截至2017年,官方统计数据显示,60岁以上的阿联酋人大约只有1.5万人。因此,阿联酋提供的老年护理仍然有限。虽然一些酋长国有当地实体为阿联酋老年人提供一系列服务,但只有两家养老院是专门为老年人服务的。因此,在整个国家,老年阿联酋人被迫依赖通常由当地医院提供的有限服务,而当地医院只有少数专业医务人员。因此,阿联酋还没有准备好满足未来将存在的更多老年人的需求。除了缺乏物质基础设施外,据报道,社会动态也在发生变化,特别是大家庭模式的减少和小家庭的增加趋势。这也将影响到对老年人的照顾,因为目前大多数老年人由家人在家照顾或由女佣帮助照顾。因此,阿联酋需要探索和规划创建一个可持续和有效的老年护理系统。鉴于目前阿联酋老年护理设施稀缺,缺乏对老龄化问题的研究,谢赫·沙特·本·萨卡尔·卡西米政策研究基金会开展了这项研究。它的设计很大程度上借鉴了澳大利亚政府皇家老年护理质量和安全委员会进行的一项研究。这项研究集中在澳大利亚老年护理服务的重大问题上,包括它们的质量和以人为本,以及如何最好地向更广泛的人群提供这些服务。我们对澳大利亚的调查进行了修改,以探讨阿联酋的以下方面:(1)人口对老年人的态度,(2)对老年护理的知识和看法,以及(3)阿联酋人对老年人的经验、期望和偏好。这项调查共有2375人回答,其中2074名阿联酋人和661名非阿联酋人,49%的受访者是女性,其余51%是男性。研究结果已在《战略报告》中讨论。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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