Nursing homes’ social responsibility and competitive edge: a cross‐sectional study on elderly choices about care service and price levels in Zhejiang Province, China

Background

In the context of China's aging population, meeting consumer demand is an essential way for nursing homes to fulfill social responsibilities and improve competitive advantages. However, since little is known about the elderly's service level and price choices for nursing home care, this study aims to explore the non-disabled elderly's nursing home admission intention, service level, and price choices.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey of 402 non-disabled respondents was conducted in three different income level cities of Zhejiang Province, in July and August 2018. Multinomial logistic regression and multiple linear regression were used to identify the determinants of admission intention, service level choice, and price choice.

Results

Education, residence, and number of children were significantly associated with nursing home admission intention. Compared to those with no intention, the elderly with higher income and household wealth were less likely to have conditional intentions, and those living with the family were less likely to have unconditional intentions. Compared to medium-level services, the elderly with higher monthly income (relative risk ratio [RRR] 3.07, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.801 to 5.233), household wealth (RRR 5.451, 95% CI: 2.249 to 13.216), and age (RRR 1.528, 95% CI: 1.004 to 2.326) were more likely to prefer high-level services, while older adults with higher monthly income (RRR 0.516, 95% CI: 0.344 to 0.774), and those with pensions (RRR 0.267, 95% CI: 0.076 to 0.931) were less likely to prefer low-level services. The elderly's price preference increased by 398 CNY as monthly income increased by 1 000 CNY, and by 270 CNY as the housing number increased by one. Having pensions increased price preference (468 CNY), whereas having health insurance decreased price preference (–690 CNY).

Conclusion

The elderly's intention of nursing home admission was primarily affected by sociodemographic factors, while price and service level choices were primarily affected by financial factors. Nursing homes should use the market segmentation method to provide precision nursing home care for different groups of non-disabled elderly.