VOLUME: 15 NO. 1/2018 Journal of Health Management, IHM 1
HEALTH AND SOCIAL SUPPORT IN LONG-TERM CARE POLICY FOR MALAYSIA’S AGEING POPULATION
Ivory J.B.¹
ABSTRACT
Background: Long-term care (LTC) is the provision of supportive care for the elderly to maintain intrinsic capacity whilst allowing them to spend the later years of their lives in dignity. Demographic changes and increase in women formal employment slowly diminishes the reliance on informal care to provide LTC. World Health Organization (WHO) has projected that the low- and middle-income countries will have double the number of elderly requiring care by 2050. This study seeks to examine the resources and capacity that Malaysia currently has in order to meet the imminent growing demand in LTC.
Materials and Methods: This is an in-depth study using secondary data for the analysis of Malaysia’s LTC policy comparing with that of Japan, Germany and Australia. This research aims to study the experience of countries that have undergone demographic shift in order to draw lessons for the LTC policy for the growing ageing population in Malaysia.
Result: Several policies for older persons have been put in place between 1990 to 2010. While acknowledging that the government has been proactive in providing LTC services to the aged population over the past two decades, it is also important to note that the current resources and services are still insufficient to meet the needs of the ageing population.
The experiences of Japan, Germany and Australia provide lessons and insights on the positive and negative aspects of stewardship, eligibility assessment for LTC beneficiaries, services and benefits, as well as the financing mechanisms.
Recommendations in areas of governance, financing, eligibility assessment and services are made to overcome the policy gaps and mitigate the future challenges in Malaysia taking into account the differences between the political, economic and socio-cultural background.
Conclusion: Integration and collaboration between key stakeholders are crucial to have a strong LTC policy that is foresighted.
Ultimately, economic modelling of a future long-term care framework would be required to determine the most feasible and affordable system for the country.
Keywords: long-term care, aged care, ageing population, ageing society, health and social support
¹Nuffield Centre for International Health and Development, University of Leeds
1Corresponding author: Ivory J.B., National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency, [email protected]
