연구성과

The purpose of this study is to examine gender inequality as experienced by elderly women (those aged 60 years or older) in terms of caregiving and housing, to understand elderly women’s outlook on care and housing in their old age from their perspective while better grasping their demands for policy support, and to derive policy implications for enhancing their quality of life. To this end, we analyzed the Population and Housing Census (2000, 2015, 2020), Internal Migration Statistics (2018, 2019, 2020), and the Survey of Household Finances and Living Conditions (2012-2020) and investigated the socio-economic and regional characteristics of elderly women. Second, by analyzing the 2019 Korea Housing Survey and the Saetteul Village Project (a project to improve living conditions in vulnerable areas), we examined elderly women’s housing (e.g., housing stability, cost of housing, housing conditions, etc.), and explored whether the Saetteul Village Project can be linked with senior housing/caretaking to serve as a platform for supporting aging in place in the future. Third, through the National Health Insurance Corporation's Customized Research Database analysis of long-term care (LTC) insurance for the elderly, we identified gender differences in the use of LTC benefits and changes in the use of payment benefits due to COVID-19. Through surveys (N=1,000) and focus group interviews (N=23), we analyzed the family caregiving (spousal caregiving, parental caregiving) and caregiving burden experienced by elderly women and speculated on their preferences for caregiving and housing options in their own old age. Finally, policy tasks were derived by reviewing the overall current status of elder care and housing policies along with Japanese policy trends in LTC and housing issues.
The major findings and policy implications are as follows. First, results from the Census and Internal Migration Statistics showed that the demographic, social, and regional characteristics of elderly women have changed significantly over the past 20 years. While overall life expectancy has risen, there is still a gap in life expectancy between men and women. Mortality among the elderly has improved, but spousal bereavement remains primarily a women’s experience. With respect to household composition, the overall proportion of those living with children has decreased, and the proportion of elderly couple households and elderly single-person households has increased rapidly. Furthermore, while the proportion of older adults who live in an urban area has increased over the past 20 years, the aging of rural areas has also progressed rapidly. In particular, the proportion of super-aged women living in single-person households in rural regions has increased significantly, which confirms the need to overhaul infrastructure for medical and care services in rural areas and to implement support policies for the elderly that reflect regional characteristics. In addition, the rate of internal migration among older adults (before and after the age of 75) is tending to increase, especially among older women, making it necessary to determine whether the reason for this internal migration is related to a lack of care services. With respect to the economic condition of older adults, income among the elderly is gradually rising due to the expansion of basic benefits and the increase in the number of senior citizens who are qualified to receive a public pension. However, a significant number of older adults are still below the relative poverty line. The highest level of poverty among older adults was found among elderly women, particularly elderly women living in single-person households. Given the high possibility that senior poverty operates as a restriction on purchasing the goods and/or services essential to maintain a healthy life, it is necessary to consider seniors’ income level and poverty status when designing medical, caregiving, and housing policies for the elderly.
Second, analysis from the 2019 Korea Housing Survey showed that housing stability (rate of home ownership, period of residence) among elderly women was relatively high compared to the total household average, and the proportion of elderly households that does not meet minimum housing standards or who were living in basements, half-basements, and on rooftops was relatively low compared to non-elderly households. However, the burden of housing expenses was relatively higher for elderly women compared to the non-elderly, and their level of satisfaction with their current housing and residential environment was also found to be low. Accordingly, it is necessary to strengthen support for housing improvement and renovation for households in which elderly women live, while at the same time improving satisfaction with the broader environment in which they reside (e.g., access to medical facilities, access to commercial facilities, and access to public institutions) by establishing overarching long-term regional development plans. In addition, regarding those whose quality of housing and quality of life can both be improved by moving to serviced housing, it is necessary to support a safe and dignified lifestyle for the elderly by expanding public rental housing and ensuring a variety of residential welfare facilities and housing options are available at an affordable level. In addition, considering elderly women’s low awareness of and experience with housing policy, policy accessibility should be improved by strengthening public relations and education on housing policies.
Third, regarding the current status of caregiving and the housing outlook for elderly women, the results from the National Health Insurance Corporation's Customized Research Database showed that that many elderly men receive caregiving from their spouses at home while also receiving in-home LTC services (e.g., home visit care, day and night care). Elderly women, however, are more likely to use aged care facilities. In addition, there is a higher proportion of elderly women than men utilizing in-home services while living alone and not utilizing in-home services at all. This implies that they could be exposed to a lack of needed care. Accordingly, various measures should be prepared to reduce the burden of caregiving borne by elderly women, and measures to secure the care needs of elderly women who live alone should be strengthened. Similarly, the survey and FGI analysis showed that most elderly women who take care of frail spouses or parents experience a high burden of care. In particular, it was shown that policy intervention is needed to mitigate the burden on elderly women taking care of spouses and parents for additional hours due to the reduction of public care services (such as day and night care services) during the COVID-19 pandemic event. With respect to the awareness of care and housing policies for elderly women, awareness of caregiving policy was considerably high, but awareness of housing policy was on the low side, especially in rural areas where residential environments are relatively less age-friendly. Awareness of housing policy is even lower among those living in standalone houses. Regarding their preferred future housing options, the proportion of elderly women who reported that they want to live in their current homes for as long as possible was the most prevalent. However, the proportion of elderly women who expressed a preference for a service housing option in their older age was also high. In addition, respondents living in rural areas or not in apartments expressed a high need for the improvement of their residential environment. These findings show that policy support for housing improvement should be expanded. Many elderly women responded that they intend to move to serviced housing and/or a nursing home when they require care due to worsening health and function in the future. It was confirmed that there is a need for policy support for more diverse alternative housing options (e.g., CCRC, assisted living) in old age as the current options in South Korea are limited.


Based on the above results of this study, we propose the following policy recommendations: 1) Expanding caretaking services such as living support services and diversifying LTC in-home services; 2) Improving service quality and awareness of public care services: 3) Expanding senior-friendly care-related smart technology; 4) Expansion of emotional support services and provision of information for elderly women who are caregivers; 5) Expansion of later-life-planning services for elderly women and support for their economic participation; 6) Expanding public rental housing and rental benefits for the elderly; 7) Strengthening the elderly’s right to choose their housing through the diversification of housing options in old age; 8) Expanding support for improving and renovating housing conditions and strengthening housing-related policies and service information; 9) Establishing a cooperative system among related ministries and reorganizing related laws and regulations to link caregiving and housing for the elderly; 10) Expanding the systems that link regional community-based caregiving and housing; 11) Promoting pilot projects linked to housing and care that reflect regional characteristics and resources; and 12) Promoting follow-up research related to caregiving and housing for the elderly.