1

Introduction

This book provides visual information of Chinese older people’s lifestyles. It forms part of the report of a research project commissioned by Active Life Village. We interviewed and observed a number of older people in Shanghai, and developed personas and scenarios based on the data collected. The sample is by no means representative of the older population in China, however, we hope the detailed information about the individuals will help the reader build an insight into Chinese seniors’ life styles.

The research is conducted by the Inclusive Design Research Group, China.

We thank all the participants for agreeing to share their images. No real names are used in the report. Thanks go to the postgraduate students who took the ‘inclusive design and user studies’ module at the College of Design and Innovation, Tongji University, for helping collect data.

We thank Shan Huang, Wenyun Zhang, Liang Kang, Shu Yuan, and Jia Li, for assisting with the publication.

Dr Hua Dong International coordinator The Inclusive Design Research Special Interest Group (InclusiveSIG)February 2013

Published by the College of Design and Innovation, Tongji University, in February 2013

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Carein China:A preliminary study of older people’s needs and the care ecosystem

The ageing market in ChinaChina has become an aging society since 1999. The people aged 60 and over in China are 33 times of the whole population in Finland (based on the sixth national census in China which found there were around 178 million people aged 60+ in 2010 [1], and the Finish population of the same year, i.e. 5,375,276 [2]). Shanghai became an ageing city in 1979, and it is the first one in China that entered the ageing society. According to a latest report by the Shanghai Statistics Bureau, people aged 60 or older already accounted for 24.5% of the city’s total population by the end of 2011, totaling 3,477,600 [3], which is about 65% of the Finish population. The rapidly increasing older population in China has created a huge market, and their care demand “has boosted a thriving service industry” [4]. The potential market value of the care service for the aged in urban areas has exceeded 70 billion yuan (about 9.78 billion U.S. dollars) [4] in 2008. It is forecast to exceed 500 billion yuan in 2020.

Older people’s needs

The older people in China share similar needs to the older people in other countries: e.g. health issues, loneliness, and isolation. However, China has a different welfare system, and there are unique challenges for care in China. With increasing age, older people become more and more dependent on other people in meeting their care needs. The level of dependency can be seen as an indicator of importance for various needs. That is, the higher the dependency, the bigger the need. The level of dependence may be categorised into four areas: physical, mental, social, and economic dependency. Apart from age, factors such as urban or rural residency also affect the degree of dependency within the four categories. This is due to the differences in the social welfare system between urban and rural areas in China.

Physical dependency Phys ical act iv i t ies where older people commonly are dependent on others or needs assistance are shopping, dressing, eating, using the toilet and bathing. The dependency regarding the physical activities all increase with age, whereas the urban areas generally showed a higher dependency than the rural areas. Chronic illnesses and conditions are the main reasons for physical limitations and dependency. In Shanghai, 60.3% of the people over 60 year old have some kind of chronic disease. On avarage, older people have 6 or more different types of disease(e.g. Cerebral vascular diseases, tumor, heart disease, diabetes, hypertention, respiratory disease)

Mental dependency The mental status includes both the cognitive and emotional statuses. An example of a cognitive disability is dementia, and an emotional disability could be depression. In research the cognitive ability is measured as the level of memory loss, whereas the emotional ability was measured as the level of happiness. The cognitive ability is more obvious and affects the physical ability the most , whereas emotional funct ional i ty such as depression is harder to recognize and diagnose. It is however shown that depression is twice as common among elderly as cognitive disabilities such as dementia. Research also suggest that older people living in urban areas showing twice as high level of happiness as those in rural areas.

Social dependency Five aspects can be looked at to assess the older people’s social dependency, namely social relationships, social activities, social resources, social support and burden on family members who care for the elderly person. Older people who are living with their spouse or children can get more care. According to the China National Committee on Ageing (CNCA), nearly half, or 49.7 percent, of elderly persons in urban areas lived in empty-nest households in 2006; in rural areas, 38.3 percent of elderly lived alone [4].

Economic dependency Economic dependency is an important factor as it affects an older person’s ability to maintain and improve his/her physical as well as mental wellbeing. In China, an older person’s economic support typically can be categorized into formal and informal support: the formal one is pension and the informal support from the family. The majority of older people in rural areas are dependent on financial support from their children and other family members.

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The type of leisure activities differ significantly between rural and urban elderly residents. Rural elderly spend their free time doing activities such as house work, social visiting, taking care of children/grandchildren to a greater extent than the urban elderly, whereas In urban areas, older people have the opportunity to participate in leisure activities such as attending senior universities and recreation. In terms of how they would prefer to spend their leisure time, more than 50% of the rural elderly’s favorite activities involve playing with children or chatting with friends and relatives, whereas the urban elderly had a wider range of activities they preferred, including for example travelling, volunteering and studying. Older people in urban areas have demanded var ious forms of care serv ice, such as housecleaning and nursing, having partners to chat wi th , and keeping act ive and independent. The Office of Civil Affairs in Shanghai conducted a survey about older people’s care needs at home. Over 58.6% wanted to get help in cooking, 52.3% in cleaning rooms, 51.6% in washing clothes (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Care need at home

The survey also found that very old people and older people who had difficulties in taking care of themselves had a great demand for seeing doctors. When asked “What kind of medical services do you want to get?” over 72.6% of the participants preferred the nearby medical service, and 25.7% wanted to receive the medical service at home (Figure 2)

Figure 2. Preference for medical service

The care eco-system and key stakeholders

Based on our literature review and expert interviews, the care eco-system in urban areas can be summarised in Figure 3. Depends on the types of care, for example, home-based care, community-based care, institution-based care, different people (stakeholders) are involved. The target is to achieve 90% of care in home, 3% of institutional care (typically nursing homes); sometimes 9703 is used to refer to the proportion of the different types of care, i.e. 97% of the older people live at home or in community, and 3% are supported by the Government, including nursing homes. Taking care of elderly family members is part of the Confucian philosophy and is a tradition in Chinese culture. The family is often stated as the major source of both health and economic care. 80.7% of older people prefer home-based care. Research also shows that 54.26% of older people are interested in day nursing homes, suggesting community-based care has great potential in China. According to the China National Committee on Ageing, 6 to 8 percent of Chinese elderly are willing to enter retirement homes. At present, only 1.5% people older than 60 years can be accommodated by nursing homes in China.

Figure 3. The care eco-system

72.6%

Nearby medical service ' To home ' medical service

25.7%

58.6%

Help to cook

52.3%

Help to clean room

51.6%

Help to wish clothes

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Figure 4 illustrates a typical day of a care worker in a nursing home in Shanghai. Care workers work long hours, and they mainly take care of the physical needs of older people, such as eating, taking medication, cleaning, and changing diapers.

Figure 4. A typical day of a care worker in a nursing home

The personasThe care eco-system and key stakeholders

Between December 2012 and February 2013, we conducted interviews and observational studies with individual older persons in China, and interviewed a number of experts from the care sector, to gain an indepth insight into the Chinese older people’s typical living situation and their care needs.

As the study aimed to gain indepth insights into Chinese seniors’ l i fe style and care needs, and to reflect older people’s individual viewpoints, we tried to select people with whom we could quickly build trust and who were likely to give permission for us to conduct observational studies. A number of local communities were contacted for recommendation for potential participants. The target people were 50-90 year old Chinese senior citizens, living at home or residential care homes, with disposable wealth. In general, a dozen of participants will help identify 70-80% of essential needs, so we aimed to select between 12-15 persons.

Information sheets and consent forms were prepared in advance, and presented to the potential participants when we first met them. Each participant was contacted at least three times, the first time for making acquaintance and building trust, the second time for an interview, and the third time for an observational study through shadowing. Upon participants’ agreement, the researchers took photos and short videos of the older people’s daily life activities, living environment, and recorded ‘a typical day’, with specific attention on older people’s care-related needs.

In te rv iews were conducted wi th the participants, focusing on: - Home environment (e.g. fire prevention, falls, stairs, alarms, house keeping)- Personal health and safety (e.g. medical care, daily exercise) - Social and emotional needs (e.g. connecting with family and friends)- Entertainment, l i fe long learning (e.g. technology use)- Care services (home, community, hospital, and Government) To help the participants engage with the topics, prompt cards (see an example in Figure 5) were presented to the interviewees.

Figure 5. Interview prompt cards: environment

Health care worker's daily routine

6:007:00

8:009:00

10:0011:00

12:0013:00

14:0015:00

16:0017:00

18:00

Arrive, changing shift.

Help the elders get up, brush teeth and wash face.

Help to turn over the elders who cannot do it by themselves (every 2 hours).

Help to change the diaper for some elders (every 2-3 hours).

Carry the breakfast to the elders' rooms.Help some elders to have breakfast.Help some elders to take medicine.

Convey the lunch to the elders' rooms. Help some elders to have lunch.Help some elders to take medicine.

Have lunch. Wash and dry the elders' clothes and bedclothes.

Help to turn over the elders who cannot do it by themselves (every 2 hours).

Help to change the diaper for some elders (every 2-3 hours).

Help to turn over the elders who cannot do it by themselves (every 2 hours).

Help to change the diaper for some elders (every 2-3 hours).

Convey the supper to the elders' rooms. Help some elders to have supper.Help some elders to take medicine.Have supper.

work shift,leaving.

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To facilitate observational studies, shopping activities were created with the offer of covering the shopping bill. The participants had the freedom to choose where to shop and what to purchase, and the researchers shadowed them (See an example in Figure 6). The shopping activity created an opportunity for the researchers to accompany the older person(s) for a relatively long period, to observe their travel and shopping behavior, and to have an informal chat about why they decided to purchase certain items, which could give an insight into their life style and personal preferences.

Figure 6. Shadowing the shopping

Between December 2012 and January 2013, we were able to interview and

observe eight older couples and six older individuals. In total 14 profiles were

developed (see the appendix). Based on these user profiles,

three personas were developed.

Persona 1

Name: Mr. Tao & Mrs. ZhangAge: 78 & 80Occupation: Retired Marital status: currently married Location: Shanghai (city)Children: 2 sons and 1 daughterMonthly income: total of RMB 9000 (the couple)Former profession: middle school teacher & primary school teacher

Mr. and Mrs. Zhang are retired teachers. They have been married for over 50 years, and are still living in the same flat where they got married and raised their three children. The flat is on the ground floor, and has easy access to shops and supermarkets. However, they do not go shopping often as they cannot walk for a long distance or carry heavy things. Their daughter helps them buy food and she visits them every weekend. A hourly-paid maid comes twice a week to help with cleaning. During week days, Mrs. Zhang cooks breakfast and dinner, and they walk to the day center in the community to meet other older people and have lunch there. Once Mrs. Zhang was in hospital because of hypertension, Mr. Zhang had to rely on the day center for meals for a month. Mrs. Zhang was very worried when Mr. Zhang tried to visit her in the hospital as it is quite far away from home, and Mr. Zhang does not have good mobility. They listen to radios everyday, but no longer read newspapers as they cannot cope with the small text. They try all the means to keep them healthy, and Mrs. Zhang strongly believes in Chinese traditional medicine. They have a number of medical devices at home, and use them on a daily basis to monitor their blood

pressure, enhance their circulation, and maintain their hand muscle strength. They keep al l these devices in their or iginal packaging. Mr. Zhang used to play badminton and write letters to friends often, but his hands shake a lot nowadays and he has to stop these activities. However, he is still active in the community as a volunteer. They ex-students often visit them, and they are pound of talking about their students.

Health-conscious couple

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Name: Granny. SunAge: 80Occupation: Retired Marital status: Widowed Location: Shanghai (city)Children: 2Monthly income: RMB 8000Education: BachelorHobbies: Reading Newspapers, Chinese traditional music

Granny. Sun used to work in a laboratory in a University, and now she lives alone in a two-bedroom flat (third floor, no lift). Her husband passed away a few years ago. Her son and daughter live nearby and they visit her often. Granny. Sun has to follow a strict diet because of her stomach problem. She seldom eats meat or greasy food; usually she eats porridge with vegetables, bean products and mushrooms. Every weekend, her daughter and son-in-law take her out, shopping and having dinner together outside.

Her hobby is reading newspaper, and she subscribes 8 different types of newspaper. She categories newspaper and sometimes cuts pieces and keeps them in different envelopes for later reference. There are stacks of newspaper in her bedroom. She also likes transitional Chinese music, and often shares music with friends in the community by a music player with a louder speaker. When she goes to supermarkets, she will only buy what she needs and quickly leave. However, when she goes to department stores, she will wonder around as she likes fashion. She wants to keep a young heart, and prefers to chat with young people. She is a member of

Name: Mr. WangAge: 57Occupation: retired retired workshop directorMarital status: currently marriedLocation: Shanghai (city)Children: 1Monthly income: RMB 3000+Former profession: workshop chiefEducation: high schoolHobbies: birds, gardening, cooking

Mr. Wang took an earlier retirement at the age of 55. He commutes every week between uptown and downtown.

During weekdays, he lives with his own parents, who are both in their 80s, in a spacious apartment in suburb Shanghai. He cooks for his parents. During weekends, he takes bus to unite with his wife and 27-year-old son who lives downtown. When holiday comes, the family will get together in the suburb, as the apartment is more spacious and comfortable.

Mr. Wang is keen on gardening and keeping birds. Every day he spends much time taking care of them: feeding, cleaning, and playing songs for them. He also takes the birds downtown. He is planning to plant organic vegetables on the terrace, as the government is now promoting the “sunny balcony farm” programme, and providing guidance for the citizens.

He also likes photography and collecting Chinese s ty le ornaments . Most o f h i s collections are fakes, but that does not bother him. From his perspective, life is the best when

you think it is the best. He believes “You are what you eat”. He drinks milk every morning and evening, and soaks vegetables and fruits in water for an hour before cooking them, to make sure they are clean and safe. He exercises by climbing the stairs, but he is a bit worried that in a few years, it may not be easy for him to climb the stairs anymore.

a studying group in the community and they gather regularly to discuss current issues. She watches Personal Healthy programmes on TV and exercises several times a day at home. She has three telephones at home (bedroom, sitting room, and toilet), and she takes a mobile phone with her when going out. She skypes with her granddaughter during weekends.

Persona 2Independent Granny

Persona 3Young-old

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Key insights

• Lifestyle Most of the older people have a daily routine, divided by three meals.They tend to get up early (4am-8am), cook breakfast by themselves, most take a nap after lunch.They tend to eat less, and have soft and light food .Regardless of their economic situation, older people have a habit of saving money, and be economical .Mahjong is popular among older people .

• Social and emotional supportStrong family support and bonds between generations.Te lephones p lay an important ro le in connecting with family and friends.Connecting with other people through community centers, day centers or exercise/hobby groups.

• Environment Stairs are often a big challenge.Lack of storage spaces at home.Some tend to stock things.Many tend to keep the original packing boxes.

• Care services Many older people visit their community centre for free health check once a week.Many go hospitals for general health check (every other week, or once a month).

• Personal health Most of the older people monitor their health condition regularly (e.g. blood pressure).Many do physical exercises (e.g. a walk after dinner).Mobility is a big concern of the older people.Massage is popular among the elders, and many trust traditional Chinese medicines.

• Lifelong learning Universit ies for the elderly are popular, especially among the younger old (55-74).Computers are used mainly for games, a few also search information.Radios, TVs and newspapers are important sources of information for the older people.Reading small texts becomes a daily challenge.

• Technology use In Shanghai, there are already government initiatives on technology for care.In nursing homes, currently they rely on staff rather than technology.Many older people have medical devices at home, and use them regularly.

Here are some key findings and insights we gain from the study.

Challenges and opportunities

Ageing: a big challenge for China• A huge number of older people • Rapid ageing speed• More and more older empty nesters• Increasing demands for nursing homes • Lack of care professionals• Urban and rural differences

Home-based care: prevalent80.7% of older people prefer home-based care.Families are the foundation for the care of the elderly.

Community-based care has great potential:54.26% of older people are interested in day nursing homes An effective way to provide practical care services (e.g. meals) and an opportunity for being connected with the community.

Lack of care skills and facilities:Less than 20,000 qualified care workersDemand > 10,000,000 Only 1.5% people older than 60 years can be accommodated by nursing homes

Bibliography

Hong Li, Martin B. Tracy. (1999) Family support, financial needs, and health care needs of rural elderly in China: A field study. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 14, 357–371.

Kania K.Y. Wan, et al. (2002). Complicated Daily Tasks of Older Chinese People, Hong Kong Journal of Occupational Therapy, 12, 5–12.

Liu Jet al. (2009) Prevalence and correlates of functional disability in Chinese older adults. GeriatrGerontolInt, 9, 253–261

Mountain, G. (2010) keynote:Will technology help to solve thechallenges of an ageing population? At the CWUAAT conference, Cambridge

Su, B., Shen, X., & Wei, Z. (2006). Leisure life in later years: Differences between rural and urban elderly residents in china. Journal of Leisure Research, 38(3), 381-383,385-388,390-397. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/201123986?accountid=10041

Wu, B., Chi, I., Kiyak, A., Chappell, N., Chou, K., Reid, C. (2008). Living arrangement, care and attitude towards Chinese older adults.The Gerontologist, 48, 706-706.www.stats.gov.cn, 2010www.news365.com.cn/xwzx/sh/201203/t20120330_335997.html www. sh.sina.com.cn, 2010 Xinhua News Agency February 22, 2008

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Contents

Mr. & Mrs. Lin

27

Mr. Yu

28

Mr. & Mrs. Ma

55

56

Mr. & Mrs. Wong

Mr. & Mrs. Guo

79

80

Mr. & Mrs. Kong

Mr. Wang Granny Zhao

Mr. & Mrs. Zhao

Granny Li

Mr. & Mrs. JiaMr. & Mrs. Gong

Yu Wei

Mrs. Wu

16

39

40

67 93

68 94 105

106 121

122 137

138 153

154 167

168 179

180 189

190 194

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Mr. & Mrs. Lin

“We have to admit that we keep these hobbies primarily to stay connected with other people.”

Name: Mr. LinAge: 73Occupation: retired Marital status: married Location: Shanghai (city)Children: 2 Monthly income: RMB 4000+Former profession: workshop directorEducation: high school Hobbies: calligraphy, carving seals, badminton

Name: Mrs. LinAge: 69Occupation: retired Marital status: married Location: Shanghai (city)Children: 2 Monthly income: RMB 4000+Former profession: workshop directorEducation: high school Hobbies: dancing, knitting, Peking drama

Profile

Basic Information

Mr. & Mrs. Lin live on the 6th floor of the apartment, in a traditional shanghai lanes. They have 2 married daughters. One lives not far from them, another one lives in the other side of the city. The two daughters all have stable jobs and their own families. During the week days, their grandson and granddaughter, whose school is nearby, will come to have supper with them.

Both of the couple used to be workshop directors of a government owned watch components factory, so they have stable pensions after they retired. With nothing to worry about, Mr. and Mrs. Lin enjoy living their own lives.

Mr. Lin has many hobbies: traditional Chinese painting, calligraphy, carving seals and playing badminton. He learned all these after retirement. He usually spends 2 hours a day playing badminton, 3-4 hours painting or carving seals. Mrs. Lin love knitting, dancing and low-intensity physical practicing like tai chi. She does them almost every day. Mr. and Mrs. Lin both agree that they keep those hobbies primarily for social connectivity.

Generally speaking, Mr. and Mrs. Lin don’t pay too much attention on the health issues. They believe the physical practice they do every day can help them keep fit. They use a blood pressure monitor every week or when they feel sick, to check whether their blood pressure is at a right level. Every year they’ll go to the community hospital to have free medical examinations. And they mentioned the district/city hospital will charge much more.

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Persona

Mr. Lin loves traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy. He usually spends 3 to 4 hours a day painting or practicing calligraphy. Now he is famous for his art works in the Huayang Street Art Salon.

When Mr. Lin waits for the ink to dry, he usually plays some simple computer games. But he doesn’t know how to surf the internet so there’s no internet connectivity.

20 21

Mr. Lin is also a member of the Badminton Team Longzhimeng, which has over 100 members. Mr. and Mrs. Lin both agree that they keep those hobbies primarily for social connectivity.

Mrs. L in has a music player which can play music loudly from USB flash drives. She uses it to share music with friends she dances with. And this kind of devices is popular among these ladies.

22 23

Mrs. Lin dances every evening in the smal l square nearby, through this she met a lot new friends.

The two daughters al l have s tab le jobs and the i r own fami l i e s . Dur ing the week d a y s , t h e i r g r a n d s o n a n d granddaughter, whose school is nearby, will come to have supper with them.

24 25

They use a b lood pressure monitor every week or when they feel sick, to check whether their blood pressure is at a right level.

A Typical Day

6:30amawake, wash up, have breakfast

7:00am(Mr. Lin) play badminton in a gym of Zhongshan Park; (Mrs. Lin) do some low-intensity practice, as Tai chi, in Zhongshan Park

9:00am(Mrs. Lin) knit with the knitting hobby group in the community office

11:30 amgo home, (Mrs. Lin) cook lunch, have lunch 12:00am-14:00pm

(Mr. Lin) have a nap; (Mrs. Lin) listen to the radio and knit

17:30pm -18:00pm(Mrs. Lin) cook supper, have supper

14:00pm-17:30pm(Mr. Lin) paint or practice calligraphy

22:00pmgo to sleep

18:30pm -20:30pm(Mrs. Lin) dance with the neighborhood; (Mr. Lin) watch TV till sleep

20:30pm -21:30pm(Mrs. Lin) go home, watch TV

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Scenario

Using blood pressure monitorWhen asked about this monitor, the couple were v e r y e n t h u s i a s t i c a n d helped us try their blood pressure monitor. They're quite familiar with it. When something goes wrong, they will try to adjust it by themselves, and read the instructions if necessary.

CalligraphyMr. L in showed us how he practiced his calligraphy skill, while Mrs. Lin presented us with his former works. He does this almost every day. “This room is just like a private workshop to me,” says Mr. Lin.

28 29

Mr. Yu

“I don’t care too much whether I bought a genuine antique. I just buy things that look beautiful and interesting. So is my opinion about life: life is the best when you think it is the best. ”

Name: Mr. YuAge: 57Occupation: retired Marital status: married Location: Shanghai (city)Children: 1 Monthly income: RMB 3000+Former profession: workshop chiefEducation: high school Hobbies: birds, gardening, Chinese style collections

Profile

Basic Information

During the weekdays, Mr. Yu lives with his parents, who both are over 80 years old, in a three-bedroom apartment on the 6th floor in the Jinshan District, the suburb of Shanghai. He used to be a workshop chief of the Jinshan Chemical Factory for many years, so he bought this apartment in Jinshan. His wife lives with his 27-year-old unmarried son, who works at the airport in Shanghai, to take care of him.

At weekends, Mr. Yu will take the bus to downtown Shanghai to spend the weekend with his wife and his son. And when holiday comes, the family will get together in Jinshan, because the apartment is more beautiful and comfortable.

Mr. Yu is keen on keeping birds. He keeps 5 birds, three small white-eyes and 2 GongDianKes. Every day he spends time taking care of them: feeding, cleaning, playing songs for them and surfing internet for aviculture knowledge. He even spent 1000 yuan for each cage in which he brings bird outside. He also likes Chinese style ornaments. When he visits the market, he buys things that “look interesting” instead of “genuine antique”.

His parents are both in good health, so most of the time they can take care of themselves. Mr. Yu only needs to cook lunch and supper for them. Because his parents have difficulty in chewing, he always cooks dishes that are not hard to chew for lunch and supper. In the morning, His parents will prepare their food by their own.

Mr. Yu believes at his age, it is enough to keep fit as one keeps eating right and exercising often. He also plans to plant some organic vegetables on the terrace, as the government is now promoting “sunny balcony farm” and providing guidance for the citizens. What concerns he most is, maybe 2 or 4 years later it would be not easy for him to climb the stairs anymore, which might prevent him from going outside.

30 31

Persona

Mr. Yu is a bird-a-holic, every day he spends much time taking care of them: feeding, cleaning, and playing songs for them.

His home is on the top floor and has a large terrace. He set up a small cabin on the terrace for his birds and plants. He also keeps some goldfishes and tortoises.

32 33

Mr. Yu likes collecting Chinese style ornaments. He bought these from antique markets in Shanghai. Most of them are fakes, but he doesn’t care.

Since his son works at the airport, Mr. & Mrs. Yu can travel by air for free once a year. They always buy a lot of local specialties. This is one of the jade “pixiu” he bought in Yunan, which a pair cost 3000 yuan.

34 35

This is the dinner table, where he usual ly puts some fruits , cakes, and snacks. The cakes are his parents’ breakfast. He goes to a nearby supermarket to get them twice a week.

Mr. Yu believes “you are what you eat”. So he soaks vegetables and fruits in water 1 hour before cooking them, to make sure they are clean and safe.

36 37

Mr . Yu be l ieves in Chinese ancient calendars (a calendar that suggests what to do or not to do each day), and believes it will influence the stock market.

A Typical Day

6:30amawake, wash up, have breakfast

7:00am- 9:00amtake care of the birds: move the cages f rom wash room to the terrace cabin, feed them one by one, and then clean the cages

9:00am- 10:30amdrink tea and smoke in the cabin

11:00am- 12:00 amcook lunch, have lunch with his parents

12:00am-15:00pmsurf the internet: watch his stocks with stock software, browse news on sina.com, visit bird forums.15:00pm-17:30pm

go to check the birds, and then go to market to buy food

22:00pmwash up, go to sleep

18:30pm -22:00pmsurf the internet, have a plate of peanuts and a cup of wine.

17:30pm -18:30pmbrings the bird cages indoor, cook supper, have supper

38 39

Scenario

Feeding birdsMr. Yu presents us how to feed the bird with a DIY tool, which he modified from a hand cream tube. He thinks the DIY one is better than the one he bought from the bird and flower market.

Eating healthilyWhen Mr. Yu helped prepare supper, we asked about his opinions on food. Mr. Yu and Mrs. Yu agreed that the elder should have less fat. They also suggested that the elder eat more peanuts but they couldn’t tell why.

40 41

Mr. & Mrs. MA

Name: Mrs. MaAge: 84Gender: FemaleCity: ShanghaiOccupation: RetiredFormer profession: Primary school teacher

Name: Mr. MaAge: 83Gender: MaleCity: ShanghaiOccupation: RetiredFormer profession: Middle school teacher

Profile

Basic Information

Mr. and Mrs. Ma have lived in a residential block near Tongji University, Shanghai, for almost 60 years. The couple got married in 1951.They have two sons and one daughter.

Mr. Ma used to work as a Chinese teacher at Tongji middle school. He is now the leader of the neighborhood committee, so he is responsible for organizing meetings and votes and listening to residents’complaints and suggestions. He likes listening to the radio, watching TV and taking short walks. Mr. Ma has a slipped lumbar, so he can only walk short distances otherwise he will get dizzy. He used to enjoy calligraphy and writing letters to his friends, but now he stops doing so because of the shaky hands.

Mrs. Ma used to be a Chinese and Math teacher at Tongji primary school. Her main problems are the high blood pressure and high blood sugar. Mrs. Ma enjoys listening to the radio and taking short walks near their home. But she has a bad hip thus she cannot walk long distances. She cooks almost every day.

Mr. and Mrs. Ma have many medical devices, which they use in the evening. They think it is important to keep healthy. They care a lot about the nutrients in the vegetables and food. Mr. and Mrs. Ma wish to lead a calm and healthy life.

42 43

Persona

Mr. Ma always drinks tea directly from the tea pot. He does it because he thinks the tea tastes better in the clay pot andthe pot keeps warm longer. In addition, His hands are a bit shaky, so it is easier to hold the tea pot rather than a cup.

Mr. & Mrs. Ma have been married for over 60 years. These are pictures of their pas t ann iver sa r ie s . The largest picture in the middle is of their latest diamond wedding anniversary. Now they are heading for their platinum anniversary.

44 45

This shelf above the TV is the place where Mr. & Mrs. Ma keep their telephone among other things. When Mr. Ma answers the telephone, he leans against the TV to keep balance.

Mr. & Mrs. Ma often listen to the radio. Their favorite radio channel is FM 990.These are their portable radios.

46 47

This is Mr. & Ms. Ma’s fridge. Their daughter visits them once a week to make sure there is enough food in the fridge.

Mr. Ma usual ly exercises by walking. And he also does catch and hand grip exercises with a small squeezing tool. He used to play badminton, but now he is too weak to do such high intensity exercises.

48 49

Mr. Ma used to be a teacher. Sometimes his former students hold homecomings. The last time he attended was 2 years ago. Now he feels too weak to attend any more.

This is where Mr. & Mrs. Ma live. They are lucky to live on ground level since there is no lift for the higher floor.

50 51

A Typical Day

7:00 am. They just got up .Today their daughter and two sons will come to join them for lunch.So they can do more exercises instead preparing lunch.And the children arrive at 8:00 am.

11:00 am.The daughter is preparing lunch for them.After lunch, the children help to do cleaning.T h e y c a n n o t d o t h e c l e a n i n g t h e m s e l v e s anymore, so they have h i r e d a c l e a n e r t h a t comes two t imes per week.

1:00 pm.The children leave so that Mr. and Ms. Ma can get some rest.They prefer listening to the radio while the rest for 2-3 hours.5:30 pm.

Mrs. Ma starts preparing dinner.Mr. Ma does not know how to cook. So he had to eat the food that the committee arranged for e lder ly when Ms . Ma was in the hospital. But the rice was too hard to chew. So they wish to have a canteen nearby their house.

3:00 pm.Usually they like to take a short walk before dinner, but because of the bad weather their legs hurt too much to go out.Because their legs cannot stand long distances, they bring a special cane. The cane can be folded out to be used as a stool, so they can sit down and have a rest on it. They like to sit outside in the shade in the summer.

7:00 pm.They watch TV or go for another walk after dinner. Sometimes theyr ead the newspaper for a short while . But the text is so small that they feel dizzy when reading it. Mr. Ma uses cellphone to contact his friends. But he does not know how to use the messaging function. the Pinyin input method is too complex to him and typing is hard for his shaky hand.

7:30 pm.T h e y u s e t h e f o o t m a s s a g e i n g s l i p p e r s or the foot bath for 20 minutes.T h e y s p e n d m o s t o f their money on medical devices and medications. Ms. Ma turns on a device in the bedroom which produces oxygen and anions that can make the air clean and more healthy.

9:00 pm.They go to bed. And so ended that day.

Mr. & Mrs. Ma keep all their things in their original boxes. Their apartment is filled with different kinds of boxes.

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Scenario

They use a special stick to help them walk longer.The stick can turn into a simple seat, so they can have a short break when they feel tired.

T h i s m e d i c a l d e v i c e c a n massage their feet every night, which can improve b lood circulation.

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This medical device can produce fresh oxygen for them. Every night they use it to help them fall asleep.

Th i s i s a home-use b lood pressure monitor. The couple feels it is hard to learn how to use this device.

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Mr. & Mrs. Wong

“Being optimistic is quite important for our old people. Time is flying every day. We should make ourselves happy.”

Name: Mrs. WongAge: 68Occupation: retired Marital status: marriedChildren: 2Monthly income: RMB 3000+Former profession: worker of a textile factory in Shanghai Education: Primary schoolHobbies: watching TV (news), learning new policy

Name: Mr. WongAge: 72Occupation: retired Marital status: marriedChildren: 2Monthly income: RMB 5000+Former profession: teacher of Tongji UniversityEducation: master degreeHobbies: surfing the Internet, writing articles for his website

Profile

Basic Information

Mr. and Mrs. Wong live in a compound near Tongji University, Shanghai. Their son lives in the same flat. They live peaceful and happy lives.

Mrs. Wong used to be a worker in a factory. She is kindhearted and always in an optimistic mood. Many years ago she got cancer, but she has lived with it many years. Every day, she wakes up in the early morning and go to buy fresh vegetables for her family. She also takes some to her mother who in her 90s, in a nearby compound. Her husband can help her a lot.

Mr. Wong used to be a teacher of Tongji University. Now he spends his most time on his family and his website. He is an editor of the website of the organization “Care for the Next Generation”. He is responsible for choosing articles for the website. He is also a good husband to Mrs. Wong. He helps her wife a lot in their daily life.

Both of them are healthy. And their children have good living conditions, which makes them feel relieved.

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Persona

M r s . W o n g l i v e s w i t h h e r husband. Both of them are retired. They have two children: a n o l d e r d a u g h t e r a n d a younger son. Her daughter has been living in New York for many years. Mrs. Wong has got cancer for over 20 years. For tunate ly , she has been living a good life after her first surgery. She is a very happy and optimistic woman.

Every day, Mrs. Wong goes out to buy some vegetables for her mother and her family. She also needs to take care of her mother who lives alone not far from her home.

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From: ggw.tongji.edu.cn

Mr. Wong is still working for an organization called “Care for the Next Generation”, which is aiming at helping the university students overcome different problems. He spends a lot of his spare time on editing the website of the organization.

Mr. Wong used to be a teacher of Tongji University. After he retired, he lives a peaceful and happy life. He helps his wife shop and cook if his wife feels unwell.

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A Typical DayA Typical Day

6:40 amwake up

7:20 amhave breakfast, watch TV

7:40 am - 9:00 amgo to supermarket to buy some vegetables for her family, take some vegetables to her mother.

9:00 am - 11:00 amgo to the community to have some classes on Chinese new policy.

11:00 am - 12:00 pmprepare lunch, have lunch.

21:00 pm - 22:00 pmdo some massage using a massaging device, wash up. 22:00pm

go to sleep

18:00 pm - 19:00 pmprepare food for dinner with her husband.

13:00 pm - 18:00 pmgo to her son’s, wait for a repairer to repair the conditioner, go home.

19:00 pm - 21:00 pmwatch TV programs

12:00 pm - 13:00 pmhave a nap.

From: www.nipic.com

As they get older and older, the only change is the increasing amount of their medicines.

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Scenario

Get informationO n t h e w a y t o t h e supermarket, they saw a lot of old people reading newspapers through the bi l lboard on the street . Many old people prefer the traditional media than the new media. “The old people can get a lot of in format ion here . ”Mrs . Wong said.

Choosing goods: When she entered the market, she asked for a basket to carry the goods. She chose this candy b e c a u s e s h e r e m e m b e r e d the package of her favor i te candy. She could not read the information on each package. She wanted to buy some biscuits, but that biscuits is in a very low position and is hard for her to reach.

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Pick cakesThen she went to choose some cookies , she could not f ind the plastic bags and asked the waitress for help. The plastic bags were at the corner which is quite hard to be noticed. Unfortunately, after she got the bags, she found it hard to open. What’s worse, she had to use one hand to take the plastic bag and the other hand to choose and pick cookies.

Market for the oldIn the supermarket, most of the customers are old people, but there is no special facility for the olds. Mrs. Wong told us if the weather was bad, she would ask her husband for help. Her husband can go shopping and carry groceries by himself.

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Mr. & Mrs. Guo

“We are so satisfied with our current situation. We are in good health condition. What we care most are our daughter and grandson.”

Name: Mr. GUO Age: 63Occupation: gate keeper Marital status: married Location: Shanghai (city)Children: 1 daughter Monthly income: RMB 4000Former profession: automobile mechanicEducation: Junior High school Hobbies: mahjong, traveling

Name: Mrs. GUOAge: 63Occupation: retired Marital status: married Children: 1 Monthly income: RMB 2000Former profession: quality inspectorEducation: Junior High school Hobbies: mahjong, singing, dancing

Profile

Basic Information

Mr. and Mrs. GUO have been living in the community near the ECUST (East China University of Science and Technology) for 12 years. And they have a married daughter and a 6 years old grandson.

Mr. GUO used to work as an automobile mechanic in a company for more than 30 years. Then he retired from the former profession and now works as a gate keeper of the same company. Mr. GUO works hard in his position and for his strong sense of responsibility he always get rewards from his boss. Mr. GUO usually works on day shift for two days and rests for two days, and after that he will work on night shift for two days and have two day’s rest. So during the rest time he likes having a nap and playing mahjong with neighborhood. Also, he likes traveling so much. During the holidays, he will organize his friends and colleagues to travel. He has been to a lot of places.

Mrs. GUO used to be a quality inspector. She is quite healthy and exercises every day. She almost does all the housework. Chatting with neighbors is her favorite activity. Sometimes she plays mahjong. Mrs. GUO makes most decisions on their daily life.

When Mr. GUO is on the shift, the couple doesn’t always have meals together. Their daughter and grandson play important roles in their daily life. Always they think of them first. Mr. GUO and Mrs. GUO are expecting the compensation for relocation of their old apartment from government, so that they can help their daughter and son-in-law to move into a bigger house.

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Persona

Mr. and Mrs. GUO have lived in the community near ECUST (East China University of Science and Technology) for almost 12 years. They tell us the color of their house is pretty good. They like it very much.

Mrs. GUO likes talking to friends and neighbors. She doesn’t use mobile phone and cannot remember the phone number clearly, so she records phone number in a notebook. When she needs to make a call, she will look up in this notebook in their bedroom.

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Mr. and Mrs. GUO are living in a 75 m2 apartment. They rent a spare bedroom to the student in the university nearby. They can earn around 2000 Yuan per month from this. Mr. and Mrs. GUO think that students are easier to communicate and get along with.

Mrs. GUO has retired. So she does almost all the housework and cooks meals. Mrs. GUO likes stacking things in a pile and put them in the corner or on the top of household appliances.

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Mr. and Mrs. GUO win a big TV in a lottery, but they almost never use i t . They th ink i t consume electricity. So it is just decoration in their house.

Mrs. GUO always uses stickers to record things or to leave some messages to Mr. GUO. It is the most convenient way if Mr. GUO changes shift or he forgets.

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Mrs. GUO places some photos of their daughter's family on one s ide of the door. They showed us the pictures of their cute grandson proudly. Their daughter brings the grandson to them every week and they go to their daughter's house every month.

Mr. and Mrs. GUO complain about the lock of the apartment gate. Always, it gives a wrong alarm. Sometimes, it is so hard for Mrs. GUO to open it. But Mr. GUO is good at open it.

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A Typical Day Scenario

1. They don’t keep a petMrs. GUO had been bitten by dogs several times, she doesn’t the dogs. And for the consideration of clean environment for kids and daily life, they do not keep pets. They hold that once you have pets, you will love them. And it is so hard to quit.

2. The old apartment relocationMr. and Mrs. GUO own an old apartment. And once the government relocates that house, they can get a bigger house as compensation. They intend to give that bigger house to their daughter. They consider their daughter a lot. They are quite satisfied with their lives now.

3. A trip to Korea In 2005 Mr. GUO went to Korea with his 11 colleagues organized by themselves. It costs him 5000 RMB. Mr. GUO loves traveling very much. He also has been to Chongqing by ship. They toured in the daytime, and spent the night time on the ship.

4. Physical examination and the medical insurance systemMr. GUO takes a physical examination held by his company which contains systematical check-ups every year. Mrs. GUO usually goes to the community hospital to do the examination by herself. And they think that the government medical insurance system benefits them a lot.

A Typical Day

7:00-8:30amawake, get up, prepare breakfast and do some housework

8:30-10:30am go to the botanic garden, do morning exercises, chat with fr iends and neighbors , buy some fresh vegetables in the market near the botanic garden, go back home

10:30-11:30amdo some washing and housework

11:30- 12:30amprepare lunch and have lunch

12:30-13:30pmtake a nap, rest

21:30pm-24:00pmwatch TV programs

24:00pmgo to sleep

17:30pm-18:30pm prepare supper and have supper

13:30pm-17:00pmplay mahjong, go to chat with neighbor, knit, and do some shopping

19:00pm-21:00pmdo some housework, chat with friends, call daughter

For Mr. GUO, he always changes shifts and has two days’ rest time after two days’ work. His schedule is not so regular and always changing..

A typical day of Mrs. GUO

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Mr. & Mrs. Kong

“We don’t live together with our son and daughter-in-law, because we think different generations should have different space and different living styles”

Name: Mr. KONGAge: 68Occupation: RetiredMarital status: married Location: Shanghai (city)Children: 1Monthly income: RMB 2500Former profession: Building EngineerEducation: Junior High school Hobbies: Newspaper, Mahjong, military

Name: Mrs. KONGAge: 65Occupation: RetiredMarital status: married Location: Shanghai (city)Children: 1Monthly income: RMB 2000Former profession: Spinning factory workerEducation: Junior High school Hobbies: Singing, chatting, watching TV

Profile

Basic Information

Mr. KONG and Mrs. KONG live in a 65m2 flat which is on the second floor near the ECUST (East China University of Science and Technology). Their grandson is usually sent here by their parents and sometimes he will stay with them.

Mr. KONG used to work as a building engineer, and then retired. He likes listening to the radio and reading the military newspaper. He buys newspaper every day after morning exercises. His cooking skill is pretty good, and he is responsible for daily cooking in his family. He always rides a bicycle. He likes tea very much, so he takes his glass tea bottle with him everywhere.

Mrs. KONG used to work in a spinning factory. After she retired, she suffers from mild “three-hyper”: Hyperglycemia, Hypertension and Hyperlipidemia. But her health condition is not so bad. She goes to the botanic garden for morning exercises every day. And she pays a lot of attention to their diet. She takes care of their grandson and enjoys playing with him.

Mr. and Mrs. KONG help their son take care of their grandson. Always, they cooperate pretty well. Mr. KONG takes the grandson to the kindergarten in the morning and Mrs. KONG goes to pick him up in the afternoon. Mr. KONG cooks meals and Mrs. KONG helps. They exercise every day, and usually take a walk after dinner in the community.

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Persona

Mr. KONG has a bicycle. He usually rides bicycle to take their grandson to the kindergarten and to buy vegetables or daily necessaries. It takes him 8 Yuan per month to park his bicycle in the bicycle parking station in their community. Considering the grandson, he places a really nice seat on his bicycle.

The i r son bought an auto -washing machine for them. It is convenient for Mr. And Mrs. KONG. Their son teaches them several times about how to use this machine, and they can use it smoothly right now. Mr. KONG puts it in their balcony.

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Mr. and Mrs. KONG always take water glass with them. Mr. KONG likes tea and Mrs. KONG prefers warm water. Mr. KONG keeps his tea with him even when he is playing mahjong. Sometimes, they hold it just for warming their hands.

Mrs. KONG suffers from mold three-hyper: Hyperglycemia, H y p e r t e n s i o n a n d Hyperl ipidemia. So she boils some Chinese herb medicine by herself at home. She has a special white ceramic medicine pot in the kitchen for boiling medicine.

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M r . K O N G l i k e s r e a d i n g n e w s p a p e r s , e s p e c i a l l y newspapers about military. He buys newspapers almost every day after morning exercise in the botanic garden. And he puts those newspapers according to the content of newspapers in the corner at home. Sometimes Mrs. KONG also reads some newspapers.

Mr. and Mrs. KONG use a lot of storage boxes to classify stuffs in their daily life. Mr. Kong thinks that it is a good way to keep clothing dry in Shanghai. And according to the different boxes they can find things they need quickly.

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Mrs. KONG likes playing with her grandson and company the grandson a lot, so she shows us how to play a toy. There are a lot of toys and the grandson's stuffs in their house, even on the table.

Mr. KONG cooks meals, and Mrs. KONG helps him to prepare the ingredients and do some cleaning in the kitchen. Mrs. KONG is quite familiar with the operation of cooker hood. And she cleans the kitchen three times per day.

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Mr . KONG and Mrs . KONG bought ten bags of rice with t h e i r s o n ' s h e l p f r o m t h e supermarket. They put the rice in the storage room, and they told us proudly that the Jiangsu rice tastes good.

A Typical DayA Typical Day

6:30-7:50amawake, get up, prepare the breakfast, pick up the grandson from their son who is going to work by car, have breakfast with grandson

8:10-9:30amtake the grandson to the kindergarten by bike, go to the botanic garden separately, do morning exercises in the botanic garden (bump against trees, listen to the radio, chat with friends), buy fresh vegetables in the market near the botanic garden, buy newspapers nearby, go back home

12:15-15:00pmplay mahjong in the community, watch TV programs, knit, read newspaper, go shopping in the market nearby

15:30-16:30pmpick up the grandson from the kindergarten, go back home

21:00-23:00wait for their son to come to pick up their grandson, watch TV programs.

23:00pmgo to sleep

10:30-12:00amprepare lunch and have lunch, have a nap sometimes

16:50-17:40prepare supper, have dinner with grandson, and take a short walk after dinner

18:00-21:00supervise the grandson with homework, do housework, let the grandson go to sleep

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Scenario

Refuse buying a computerMr. and Mrs. KONG don't buy computers for the consideration of their grandson. They think the grandson’s study comes first. Also, they think their memory and health condition will get worse for playing too much computer.

Live separately with their childrenMr. and Mrs. Kong think that different generations should live separately. Their son and daughter-in-law should have the i r own space . But once something bad happens, hey will get together to solve those difficult problems.

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Mr. Wang

“I joined the army after I graduated from elementary school when I was just 15 years old, and I made great contributions to my motherland. But the government did not give me enough care.”

Name: Mr. WangAge: 78Occupation: retired soldier, bus driver Marital status: widowerLocation: Shanghai (city)Children: 2 Monthly income: RMB 3800 Former profession: soldier, bus driver Education: elementary schoolHobbies: bridge cards, Mahjong, singing

Profile

Basic Information

Mr. Wang seems very healthy and vigorous. Every day is a sunny day for him. He does many things to keep himself busy. He is in a healthy state of mind, although his wife passed away 8 years ago. He loves singing, and he can sing well, even some Korean and Vietnamese songs. With this talent, he becomes the captain of the chorus of the day-care centre, who is in charge of teaching other old people there to sing and rewriting songs by himself sometimes.

Mr. Wang has two grandsons, who were all graduated from college and have been working. When Mr. Wang’s wife died, one of their grandsons was a high school student at that time, so Mr. Wang went to cook for him until this little boy was admitted to the university.

He is the last soldier of his army, and he wants more people to know that some people have made great contributions to the country and should not be forgotten.

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Persona

Mr. Wang jo ined the army after he graduated from the elementary school when he was just 15 years old. He made great contributions to his motherland, and he expects the Government to pay more care to people like him.

He usually puts cover on the tools in the kitchen and also has problems with getting things from the top of the closet.

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Mr. Wang often listens to the radio.

Mr. Wang plays bridge cards on computer with his children and players all over the world. He has a wide range of hobbies, such as playing Mahjong and singing.

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Mr. Wang got stroke at his 40s, because they always worked outside in the cold environment when he was the captain of the team in the North Korea war. He is now in quite good physical condition through exercises such as walking, running and qigong. By the way he can play five or six kinds of qigong.

Mr. Wang has a son and a daughter. His son, who is more than 50-year-old and has a college degree, has been laid off without compensation, which makes his family have to rely only on his wife. His daughter has been retired with stable pension, 2700 yuan a month, who has been working in a Japanese company for 30 years.

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A Typical DayA Typical Day

7:20amget up, cook breakfast

10:00am-11:00amgo to the day-care centre, read newspaper, sing, check his blood pressure

11:00am-12:00amhave lunch.

12:00am-13:30pmhave a nap

13:30pm-16:00pmplay cards or Mahjong.

18:00pm-21:30pmwatch TV, do some foot massage at the same time

21:50pmgo to sleep

8:30am-10:00amdo exercises in the park.

16:00pm-17:00pmhave dinner

17:00pmgo home, watch TV or read newspapers.

Scenario

Day careMr . Wang has lunch and supper at the day care centre so that he doesn’t have to cook by himself. He cooks breakfast for himself, which includes congee, toast, fried eggs and the black sesame distributed by the day-care centre.

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Entertainment Mr. Wang plays bridge cards on computer with a l l k inds o f p layers a l l over the world and also with his chi ldren every weekend. Playing Mahjong and singing are also his hobbies.

Health careHe put the med ic ine in to a s m a l l b o x f o r c a r r y i n g a r o u n d a n d i n s t a l l e d a n emergency telephone called ANKANGTONG bes ide h i s pillow within the reach of him. But he has never used it even suffering the disease, because he doesn’t want to bother the others. However, he still would like to pay 18 Yuan per month for it. Before going to bed, he does some massage by himself.

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Mr. & Mrs. Gong

Name: Mrs. GongAge: 68Occupation: retired Marital status: marriedChildren: 2 Monthly income: RMB 6000+Former profession: foreign language teacher Education: collegeHobbies: singing Shaoxing Opera, weaving

Name: Mr. GongAge: 72Occupation: retired Marital status: marriedChildren: 2 Former profession: middle school teacherEducation: collegeHobbies: playing mahjong

Profile“We live without our children in Shanghai and spend the day time in the day care centre, just like going to work every day. We are pillars for each other.”

Basic Information

Mr. & Mrs. Gong were both well educated which make them middle school teacher. They are very proud of their students, who come to visit them every year. Sometimes they were invited to have a travel or see an opera concert together with their students.

Mrs. Gong had a surgery several years ago and now recovered. She stays at the day care centre everyday with Mr. Gong. She is the pillar of Mr. Gong, as she said.

Mr. Gong got a stroke in 2005, after that he could not speak easily or write well. He had to sit in a wheelchair. He has almost recovered through rehabilitation. Now he plays an important role in the day care centre, as he reads newspapers every day for other old people.

They have two daughters and their daughters treat them very well, the younger daughter will take them on a trip on Jan 5th.They have taught a large number of students, who come to visit them twice or three times per year. The students once invited them to a super luxury cruise, and in another trip, they stayed in a luxury hotel.

They are too weak to walk a long way for shopping, so they often ask for help.

Mrs. Gong had several surgeries and has recovered for now, but he or she has to take medicine every day. She can remember it by herself.

Twice a year they go to the nearby hospital for medical examination. They also monitor their blood pressure by themselves using the blood pressure monitor.

They hire a part-time cleaner, but it’s hard to find a proper one.They have difficulties in fulfilling physically demanding tasks, such as putting in or out something from the shelf or closet.

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Persona

Mr.&Mrs. Gong have two daughters, one daughter is a tax bureau officer and the other is working in a travel agency. They have a granddaughter and two grandsons. The youngest grandson is only one year old, who is a Hong Kong born baby.

They live on the 21st floor of the building with an elevator.

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The stair outside the super market nearby is not so convenient for them

Because of the little space of the house, they have to make use of the top of the closet. As a result, they have difficulties to get the stuff down.

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They would like to put all their art ¬ware in a little cabinet but this will make it crowded.

Their bed room has no a i r -conditioner, but they have a little electric radiator on a small seat.

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They get used to the special gate of the compound, but it does add difficulty to their coming through somehow.

They have lunch at the day care centre so that they don’t have to cook by themselves. They take the supper back home, it is convenient for them to watch TV.

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Mr. Gong plays cards with iPad. Every morning he does exercises for 45 minutes and enjoys the video. He has lunch at 11:15 and then has a nap. He also takes part in activities like playing Mahjong.

Mrs. Gong loves Shaoxing opera and keeps i t as a hobby for the whole life. Mrs. Gong likes making things as pen-holders and flower vases by weaving. She likes showing off and sharing something with others . She can use iPhone skillfully, and she often takes pictures of her craftwork and records songs she sings.

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Mr. Gong had a Russian friend when he was young, and they often wrote letters to each other. They have special feelings for Russ ian people, so they are enthusiastic to Natasha. The appearance of Natasha seems to recall the beautiful memories in their vigorous youth.

A Typical Day

7:00 amawake,get up, have breakfast

8:30 am-9: 30 amgo to the day care centre, watch news

9:45 am -10:00 am(Mr. Gong) read newspapers for other old people 11:00 am -12: 00 am

have lunch in the day care centre

13:30 pm -16:00 pm(Mr. Gong) play mahjong; (Mrs. Gong) teach other old people to weave

18:00 -21: 00 pmwatch TV and play cards with iPad.

16:00 pm -17:00 pmtake supper from the day care centre, walk back home, have supper

21:00 pmwash up, go to bed

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Scenario

ShoppingMr. & Mrs . Gong go to the super market nearby. They have problems with the stairs outside the super market. Firstly they chose yogurt and quick -frozen food for breakfast and then picked some fruits like orange and jujube for the sake of health. They also took a big bag of paper diaper. Finally they bought some ginger slice and rice cake on the way to the check-out counter.

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Granny Zhao

“I want to learn new things such as computer, but I have no time.”

Name: Granny ZhaoAge: 76Occupation: retiredMarital status: married Location: Shanghai (city)Children: 2Monthly income: RMB 2000Former p ro fes s ion : Ch inese teacher , po l i t i ca l administratorEducation: High schoolHobbies: gardening, Chinese drama, traveling

Profile

Basic Information

Granny Zhao’s husband is 82 years old, who has been suffering from Vascular Dementia for more than 20 years. During the past 4 years, he has lost almost all his conscience and keep lying in bed all the time. His IQ only equals to a one-year old baby. Granny Zhao spends all her time to take care of grandpa.

They live in an apartment with a small yard in an old compound. They live next door to their younger daughter so that she might help her mother to take care of her sick father.

Granny Zhao also has some diseases such as high blood pressure. The expenses of their medical treatment every day are very high for both of them. The treatment of grandpa costs more than 600 RMB per month, while Granny Zhao's also costs more than 300 RMB. (The total income of grandparents is less than 4000 RMB.)If there's any unexpected illness, the expense will be much higher.

Granny Zhao's family members once suggested that grandfather be sent into the care centre, but she refused to do so, because she is afraid of him not being treated as well as he is at home.

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Persona

The bed in which grandfather lies is a specific medical bed which costs 800 RMB. Both sides of the bed have handles to prevent him from falling down. The head of the bed can be lifted up and down by rotating the handle, so it's convenient to feed him. The bed is light in weight in order to make it easy for moving him into other places.

Granny Zhao records da i l y things, especially those related to grandpa, on the calendar to remind herself, in case she forgets.

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Granny Zhao always goes to hospital and market on foot. But if she bought heavy things, she would ask for her daughter's help. Granny Zhao always stock up the medicine so that she doesn’t need to go to hospital so frequently.

Granny Zhao always buys soft food because both she and grandpa don’t have good teeth.

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Granny Zhao wil l check the production date every t ime before she purchases the food although she can hardly see the words printed on the package.

Granny Zhao also has some diseases such as high blood pressure. She goes to hospital every two weeks and gets some herb medicine. She learnt to boil the herb medicine from the newspaper in 1991, so she boils the herb medicine by herself.

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Granny Zhao uses three small plastic bottles to keep the tablets for morning, afternoon and evening. And she put these bottles where she won’t miss so that she could check whether they're empty. If not, she will take medicine immediately.

In winter, Granny Zhao would make some winter tonics for inner body adjustment.

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Granny Zhao likes gardening and listening to traditional Chinese Opera. She is also willing to learn new things such as using the high technology devices l ike computers. But she seldom has time to do so because she needs to take care of grandpa.

A Typical Day5:00 amawake, listen to the radio, massage

7:00 amwash clothes

6:00 amget up, wash up; turn over grandpa, clean his body, help him drink water

9:00 amclean the room, sweep and mop the floor

8:00 ammake breakfast, feed grandpa, and help him take medicine

12:00 am -14:00 pmturn over grandpa, feed grandpa, have lunch, wash bowls, clean up kitchen, help grandpa take medicine

10:00 am -12:00 amprepare lunch

14:00 pm -15:00 pmhave a nap; sometimes go to hospital with younger daughter

16:00 pm -17:00 pmhave snack & fruit, watch traditional Chinese opera on TV

15:00 pm -16:00 pmgo to market to buy food

18:00 pm -19:00 pmhave dinner, wash bowls, clean up kitchen, help grandpa take medicine

17:00 pm -18:00 pmprepare & cook dinner (reheat the food from lunch), turn over grandpa, feed grandpa

21:00 pmturn over grandpa

19:00 pm -21:00 pmw a t c h T V ( n e w s , traditional Chinese opera); prepare herb medicine for next day (twice a week)

22:00 pmwash up, go to bed

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Scenario

Help grandpa takemedicineGrandpa can't swallow pills, so Granny Zhao dissolves them in the water to help him take them. However, grandfather always chokes and coughs a lot. Even once he got the Acuter Pneumonia because he breathes in the water vapor into his lung. Granny Zhao feels it nervous every time she feeds him with medicine.

Turn over grandpaGrandpa can' t turn h imsel f around. In order to prevent him from having skin ulcer when he lies in bed all the time, Granny Zhao and her younger daughter turns him around three times per day. What's more, Granny Zhao had a good idea to prevent him from lying flat on the bed all the time. She put a chair at the feet of grandpa so he has to bend his legs and keep lying on one side. Granny Zhao feels tired every time she turns him around.

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Go to hospital Granny Zhao goes to hospital every two weeks. Because she can't hear clearly, her daughter always goes with her for fear that she misses some words of the doctor and thus affecting the medical treatment effect. So, Granny Zhao hopes that she could be offered with hearing aid services in the hospital. In this way, she can go to see the doctor independently.

Receive medicine Granny Zhao pays the medicine bills herself. She has to wait for the herb medicine bags, then receive and bring them home, while the hospital lobby is full of patients. She sometimes mistakes the receiving windows.

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Mr. & Mrs. Zhao

Name: Mr. ZhaoAge: 91Occupation: retired Marital status: marriedChildren: 3 Monthly income: RMB 6000+Former profession: soldier of the Eighth Route Army, factory administrator Education: Private schoolHobbies: reading newspapers, watching TV (news)

Name: Mrs. ZhaoAge: 85Occupation: retired Marital status: marriedChildren: 3 Former profession: rear service worker during the war, corporation administrator, director of the neighborhood committeeEducation: Learnt Chinese characters herselfHobbies: watching TV (series), gardening

Profile “Now our lives are better and better, we must learn to feel grateful for it. I would love to be an organ donor after my death.”

Basic Information

Mr. & Mrs. Zhao have 1 son & 2 daughters. They are Marxism, hoping to be organ donors after death. The rooms in which Mr. & Mrs. Zhao live are about 90 square meters. It is very comfortable and bright.

The couple’s children help their parents cook dinner, and they also make a list of duty agreement. Besides, the couple’s children often come to company and massage their parents when they are free. They sometimes help their parents take a shower.

The couple prefers the cold-light luminaries to the warm-light ones because they think the former look brighter.

They prefer the shampoos with cap to the ones with pump because they think the former are more convenient to use and there would be no waste.

They don’t use touch screen devices because they can’t feel the feedback strongly enough. They prefer the ones with physical interface.

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Persona

The rooms look light in color and they are painted with the help of their children. (The living room is light blue, the kitchen and the bathroom is pink, and the bedroom is yellow) The old couple prefer light color.

Mr. & Mrs. Zhao own different types of household appliances that Mrs. Zhao can use them alone without problems.

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The height of the table in the kitchen is 700 millimeters. And the devices and the cupboard shelves are all low enough so that Mr. & Mrs. Zhao can reach and use them conveniently.

Mrs. Zhao is no longer good a t wa lk ing , so she uses an ambulation aid to support. Mr. Zhao prefers to walk with his walking stick. They don’t l ike being helped by others.

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Mr. & Mrs. Zhao use wheelchair when they go out. There are two wheelchairs in their home.

Mr . & Mrs . Zhao have high blood pressure, so they use the electronic blood pressure monitor to measure their blood pressure at home. Their younger daughter taught them how to use it.

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The community off ice offer l u n c h s e t s , w h i c h u s u a l l y contains 3 dishes, 1 soup and 1 bowl of rice, each day to those who are over 60 years old. Mr. & Mrs. Zhao said that they would feel it is adequate if one set costs no more than 13 RMB. They use plastic boxes to carry the meal.

The daily necessities that Mr. & Mrs. Zhao choose are what their children recommend. They prefer the toilet-rolls without paper core because they have been used to it.

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What they always buy:1 Snacks for their little great-grandson2 Snacks for visitors3 Sweets and Crispy biscuits for grandma

They prefer the food with the latest production date because they always forget to eat. And the old couple chooses the brand of seasonings which have both good taste and high quality.

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Mrs. Zhao enjoys gardening, there’re a lot of plants on their balcony. However, she is allergic to the pollen, so she doesn’t raise any scented flower.

A Typical Day

5:00 amawake, get up

6:00 amwash up, have breakfast

7:00 am -9:00 am(Mrs. Zhao) exercise in the park and chat with friends, then go to the food market; (Mr. Zhao) exercise with other old people in the community.

9:00 am -11:00 am( M r s . Z h a o ) w a t c h T V ; ( M r . Z h a o ) r e a d newspapers with glasses 11:00 am

(Mr. Zhao) take lunch from the community office

12:00 am -13:00 pmhave lunch 13:00 pm -17:00 pm

(Mrs. Zhao) watch TV series, especially ones about Anti-Japanese War, sometime have sweet potato as snack. (Mr. Zhao) take a nap. Sometimes have a shower with their children’s help

17:00 pm -18:00 pmhave supper

18:00 pm -22:00 pm(Mrs. Zhao) watch TV; (Mr. Zhao) watch TV in 18:00-20:00 while sit closely to the TV screen because of poor eyesight, then read newspapers between 20:00 and 22:00

22:00 pmwash up, go to bed

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Scenario

Take lunchMr. & Mrs. Zhao order lunch for the old in the community. And Mr. Zhao takes responsibility for taking the food every day from the 1st floor to the 14th floor where they live. They just order one set for both of them because they think the amount is enough. The food is kept in a multi-layer plastic box and the grandfather sometimes finds it difficult to open and close it.

Take elevator Mr. Zhao can walk fast and use the elevator smoothly without any problem, while Mrs. Zhao needs to use the ambulation aid to help herself walk.

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Granny Li

Name: Granny LiAge:82Occupation: Retired teacher Marital status: Widowed Location: Shanghai (city)Children: 2Monthly income: RMB 8000Former profession: Tongji UniversityEducation: BachelorHobbies: Reading Newspapers, shopping, fashion

Profile“The setting sun is infinitely good, as it is so beautiful near dusk.”

Basic Information

Granny LI lives alone on the 3rd floor of a walk-up flat. Her husband passed away several years ago. She has gallstone for more than 20 years, so she is very cautious about her food. She seldom eats meat and never greasy food, usually eats porridge with some vegetables, bean products and mushrooms for meals. Her son and daughter-in-law live very near from her house. They periodically prepare some food and bring it to Granny’s home, so Granny doesn’t need to cook much. Every weekend, Granny LI’s daughter and son-in-law take her out shopping and have dinner together outside. Both her children are very filial.

Her favorite hobby is reading newspapers. She could obtain much information about what happened nowadays through reading different kinds of newspapers. She spends 6 to 8 hours every day reading articles in newspapers about good personalities and good deeds in modern society, which are called “positive energy”. She clips the news papers when reading articles she likes very much. She is eager for transferring this kind of “positive energy” into her realistic life. She takes part in a community, in which she, with other older people, did some charity for the people who need help. She said “loneliness” is the most horrible thing for older people. She’s afraid of being isolated by the young. She wants to keep pace with young generations. She likes to communicate with young people about the articles she reads in newspapers.

she said she was young at heart. She also likes fashion food, clothes and jewelries.

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Persona

G r a n n y L I l i k e s r e a d i n g newspapers and sharing articles with young people. She clips newspapers and categories them in different envelopes.

There are 3 landlines in Granny L I ’ s home. She uses an o ld NOKIA mobile phone when she goes outside. When she comes back home, she turns the mobile phone off to save power. The landline in the living room has caller identification function, but the screen on the landline is too small and not clear enough for Granny LI.

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After one accident 3 or 4 years ago , she go t compres s ion fracture. The sequela of the a c c i d e n t i s t h a t h e r w a i s t sometimes hurts and she cannot bend over well. She puts layers of blankets on her soft sofa in order to make the surface higher and hard enough to sustain her waist. When she stands up from her seat, she needs to hold the chair arm to sustain herself.

Granny LI’s living neighborhood committee instal led stainless steel handle in the bathroom for old people, which is used to hang towels by Granny LI. The bathroom is paved with non-slip ceramic tiles.

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Granny LI takes part in the routine Red Song Group and the Communist Party Spi r i t Learning Group in her living neighborhood committee. In the group, they share articles read in newspapers and discuss the communist spirit with her neighboring fr iends in their community.

A Typical Day

5:00amget up and have a quick shower5:00 am-6:00 am

switch on the TV and radio, heat the porridge, do some housework 6:00 am-8:00 am

read newspapers

8:00 am-8:20 amhave breakfast

8:20 am-12:00 amread newspapers

12:00 amlunch(use microwave oven to heat the pot luck food)

12:00 am-13:00pmwatch TV or read newspapers, sometimes have a nap

17:00 pmstay in bed, watch TV, read newspapers

23:00 pm - 24:00 pmirregularly sleeping time

13:00 pm-16:00 pmgo out to meet friends o r s i n g r e d s o n g s i n n e i g h b o r h o o d committee

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Scenario

Going out"It was raining outside, but I had to buy some snacks today, because we would have a new year celebration tomorrow in the neighborhood committee. Actually, I seldom go out alone in such a bad weather. I took a long umbrella for rain and also as a walking stick. I wanted to take a taxi to go to the shop. Unfortunately, taxies were very busy in such a rainy day. I decided to take a bus. The stainless steel seats in the bus stop were cold and had no arms, which was not suitable for old people. On the bus I could not find a proper place for my umbrella. I really wanted to seat in a higher position on the second floor of the bus in order to have a broader view, but the stairs stopped me."

ReadingGranny LI usually seats in her special sofa to read newspapers. A pair of glasses, a pair of scissors and a pen is the 3 important things accompanying her when she is reading newspapers. Sometimes she extracts some good paragraphs or sentences and takes them down. Usually she clips newspapers and puts the same topic newspaper clipping in an envelope. But classification is not easy work. She binds the entire newspaper clipping together and stacks them beside her bed. She has a big book cabinet. She has to bend over to get the book in a lower position.

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PackageIt’s not very easy for old people to cont ro l hand s t rength . Opening plastic package is tough for them. The small open mouth for easy tear ing on coffee bags is difficult to find and the coffee powder always spil ls out. Granny LI prefers to use scissors to cut plastic packages. In KFC, Granny LI had to be really careful to open the coffee cap, or coffee would spill out because of her shaking hand. The package of ketchup is harder than that of sugar to open. Paper package is easier for old people to tear out.

KitchenThe e lec t r i c ke t t l e i s ve ry convenient for her. She doesn't like water dispenser because she is not sure when the water is boiled and when the water is cool. She also thinks the water dispenser is insanitary. Before using the faucet, she always first lets some water out, because she thinks the first coming- out water is insanitary. The switch of kitchen ventilator is a little high for her, but 10 years ago it's OK. There are 3 cleaning cloths in her kitchen for different purposes: one for washing the dishes, one for cleaning the table, and one for cleaning more dirty stuff. When frying Spring Rolls,she prefers to use chopsticks other than pancake turner.

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Entertainment Devices (TV, Radio and Recorder pen)Besides newspapers, TV and radio are other 2 important media for Granny LI to obtain information. There are many radio and TV channels in China. Remembering the exact airtimes of her favorite channels or the corresponding numbers on the remote control is difficult for Granny LI. For TV, the remote control is a little bit complicated. She doesn’t know the functions of many buttons, for example, the top right blue button. There is a cognitive difference in designing this remote control. When press “down” button, the channel number goes up. For radio, Granny LI can only use on-off button and volume adjuster. And she seldom changes channels, because she finds it is difficult for her. Granny LI said she wished to own a recorder pen for recording lectures.

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Mr. JIA &Mrs. JIA

Name: Mr. JIAAge: 81Occupation: RetiredMarital status: marriedChildren: 4Monthly income: RMB 4000Former profession: Section chief in a companyEducation: High schoolHobbies: Reading newspaper, chatting, watching TV

Name: Mrs. JIAAge: 77Occupation: RetiredMarital status: marriedChildren: 4Monthly income: RMB 4000Former profession: Worker in a hardware companyEducation: High schoolHobbies: Reading newspaper, singing, watching TV, chatting on the phone

Profile"It's my second life after the stomach cancer. For me, it's important to be independent!"

They don't want strangers to see their faces, for some kind of Chinese traditional supersitition.

Basic Information

Mr. JIA and Mrs. JIA live together in an apartment in downtown Shanghai separated from their children. There is no activity center for the old nearby, so they seldom go out for fun. They cook for themselves and have dinner separately. An "Ayi” works two hours a day to take care of them, whose job includes washing their clothes, cleaning the rooms and shopping. Their children visit them one or two days a week. All their grandchildren are more than 20 years old, and they visit the couple one or two times a month. They don’t have a computer. Only Mr. JIA has a telephone.

Mr. JIA grew up in a very rich family and used to be a section chief in a company. He thinks highly of quality and seldom thinks about the price. He has favorite brands of all kinds of commodities, and he even rejects to try other brands. He bought a lot of clothes for himself and Mrs. JIA. When going out, he only takes taxi and never takes bus.

He has high blood pressure and keeps taking medicine every day for a long time. He was in hospital because of cerebral thrombosis a few days before our visit. After that, he cannot speak clearly. He usually stays at home and goes to see the doctor at regular intervals.

Mrs. JIA got stomach cancer and was healed seven years ago. She only takes Chinese medicine and she thinks western medicine is harmful to her stomach. She goes to see a Chinese herb doctor every two weeks, accompanied by family members. She boils the medicine herself. She never uses blood pressure monitors, because her blood pressure is low and she think s it is useless for her.

She reads newspaper every day. They subscribe to eight kinds of newspapers at the same time .She often sing along with the TV show and likes many songs. She also buys lottery tickets regularly and won several times, which makes her happy. She usually chats with her relatives through the phone for almost one hour.

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Persona

Mrs. JIA baths feet every night in a wood tub and puts a kettle with hot water aside, in order to adding hot water at any time.

Mrs. JIA always wears a pair of UGG in house, which was bought by her grandson in Australia. She presented them to us proudly and told us the shoes were expensive.

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They both have a lot of clothes and enjoy shopping for new clothes.

They do preparation for their children and grandson's coming.They have three water kettles of different sizes for different numbers of people.And they prepare many teacups for them.

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They don't often go out because they are not very healthy. If they have to, they only take taxi or go by car, and they never take bus or subway.

Mrs . J IA buys lot tery t ickets regularly and often won, which makes her happy.

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A Typical Day

7:00amget up and do some exercises

7:00 am-8:00 amhave b reak fas t ( they prefer quick-frozen food) 8:00 am-10:00 am

read newspapers

10:00 am-11:00 amprepare for lunch

11:00 am-12:00 pmhave lunch (Mrs. JIA prefers light flavor, while Mr. JIA prefers dishes with stronger f lavor , so they cook for themselves separately)12:00 am-14:00pm

have a nap

14:00 pm-16:00 pmstay in bed, watch TV, listen to the radio

17:00 pm - 18:00 pmhave supper

16:00 pm -17:00 pmprepare supper

18:00 pm – 20:00 pmwatch TV

20:00 pmbath feet, go to bed

Scenario

Mrs. JIA enjoys eating snacks and singing. Even she has not enough teeth, she likes eating all kinds of popular snacks as she was young. And when she watches TV, she always sings along with the shows.

MRS.JIA MRS.JIA

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They always ask the “Ayi” to buy daily necessities for them. They focus on quality and loyal to traditional brands. So if the “Ayi” buys the wrong one, Mr. JIA would be a little angry and ask her to buy it again.

Ayi buys stuff for the old couple

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Yuwei

Name: YU WeiAge: 71Occupation: retired teacher Marital status: widowed Location: Shanghai (city)Children: 3 Monthly income: RMB 4000Former profession: Middle school teacherEducation: High school Hobbies: hand crafts, self-massaging, calligraphy

Profile“I’m content: I do not need to worry about food or clothing, or my children. The most important thing for me is my own health.”

Basic Information

YU Wei is a retired middle-school teacher. Her husband suffered diabetes for more than forty years, and became inactive ten years ago, so she spent the last ten years taking care of him, and it had been difficult for her to be away from home for more than three hours, as her husband needed constant care, and could not prepare meals by himself. In recent years, her husband had a few strokes, but each time it was quickly detected by Mrs. Yu and she sent him to hospital in time, so there were no severe consequences. Last year, her husband died. Mrs. Yu said the death had an emotional impact on her, as she suddenly recognized that life could end quickly.

As she had more free time now, she spent most of her time taking care of her health: she goes to hospitals for health checking every two to four weeks, and spends around 1000 yuan per month on medicines and nutrition supplements. She also pays great attention on her eating, and monitors her blood pressure, sugar level, and urine on a daily basis.

She also exercises a lot, on average four hours per day, massaging, jogging, and stretching.

She does not need to worry much about her life, as she has a decent pension, and her children give her sufficient financial support. She lives with her youngest son in a large two-floor apartment. It is so big that she cannot clean it by herself, so a cleaner comes everyday for two hours. She prefers living at home to a care home.

She contacts her daughter and older son’s family via skype on a weekly basis, and she can use mobile phone for texting messages. However, she does not use email or online shopping. She is content with her life: the only thing that she needs to take care of is her own health. She believes that health is everything for a older person.

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Persona

BedsideMedicine

Electric Bike

Foot Care

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Home & Crafts

Kitchen

Winter Foot Warmer

Desk

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A Typical Day4:00amawake, switch on the porridge cooker and then stay in bed, sometime massaging

5:00ams w i t c h o n t h e T V , watching a healthcare c h a n n e l i n b e d , massaging

6:00amget up, move the porridge cooker to the kitchen, and switch on the steamer to cook buns and dumplings, put the clothes into the washing machine

7:00amhave breakfast with her son’s family (a couple with a little girl), clean afterwards

8:00am-10:00amt idy up things, hang out clothes, fold dry clothes, go shopping (vegetables etc) in a local market

10:00am-12:00pmwait for the cleaner to come to help clean the whole apartment, have a chat with the cleaner. Prepare lunch just for herself, have lunch

12:00am-14:00pm nap

14:00pm-14:30pmrest, sometime make contacts with friends

14:30pm-15:00 pmexercise on the running machine

15:00pm -15:40pm feet spa with herbs

15:40pm -18:00pmprepare dinner for the whole family (wash vegetables, process meat/fish, cook)

18:00pm -19:00pmwatch a health forum on TV

19:00pm -20:00pmclean dishes, tidy up

20:00pm -21:00pmshower, massage

21:00pmgo to sleep

Scenario

Eating dinnerYU Wei had three children: a daughter and two sons. Her daughter and the old son live abroad, and she lives with her younger son in a two-floor apartment. Her younger son’s family lives upstairs, and she lives downstairs. A nanny comes everyday to help cleaning the apartment and cook lunch for Saturday She prepares breakfast for the whole family. In week days, she prepares lunch for herself as there is only herself who eats lunch at home. During weekends, her family has a bigger dinner together.

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Exercise E v e r y d a y M r s . Y U s p e n d s around two hours on exercises: m a s s a g i n g , j o g g i n g a n d stretching. When it is cold outside, she uses the exercising machine at home for jogging. She will run for about half an hour, in the middle of the afternoon (after nap, and before socking her feet).

Health forum Y u W e i w a t c h e s t w o T V programmes everyday, one at 5am in the morning and the other 6pm in the evening. Both programmes are relevant to health. While watching TV, she also does other things, for example, peeling potatoes or knitting.

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Mrs. Wu

Name: Mrs. Wu Age: 83Occupation: RetiredMarital status: WidowedLocation: Chengdu (suburb)Children: 6Former profession: Factory worker

Profile

Basic Information

Mrs Wu is 83 years old, a retired factory worker. She has six children, and they are all good to her. She lives with each child’s family for a month after retirement. However, she suffered dementia three years ago, and had got lost a few times. It proved difficult for her children to take good care of her, and they made a decision together to send her to a care home in suburb Chengdu, which is located in a botanic garden area, and has hospital facilities. They pay 2000 yuan per month to the care come, which does not cover the cost of meals or hospital treatment.

We can't take a photo of Mrs. Wu, so all the photos included here are from the Internet

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Persona

From: blog.ifeng.comalbumpic234175.html From: www.kangmengyuan.com

Mrs Wu shares a female ward with three other older persons. A hospital carer takes care of them on a 24 hour basis: fetching meals for them, cleaning them, tak ing them for a walk and talking to them; the carer also sleeps in the same ward at night. Nurses come to check once everyday. Despite dementia, Mrs Wu can get along well with the people around her. The care home puts a name badge on her, and she cannot go out of the gate by herself.

Mrs Wu’s children come to visit her every other day. When they come, they often take her out for a walk or for a meal. They also bring fruit and other food to her. When there is a nice carer who is patient, and who spends time chatting with her, Mrs Wu is very happy in the care home.

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A Typical Day

6:00am gets up

7:30amthey have breakfast 8:30am

go out for a walk or go to the rehabilitation centre

11:30amthey eat lunch 12:30pm

followed by a nap

5:00pmthey have dinner

2:30pmif the weather is good, they also go out for a walk with the carer

6:00pmwash, and watch TV

8:00pmthey go to sleep