Professional "ability assessors" safeguard Chinese elderly

Chen Daming has been working with the elderly people for nearly three years in Qijiang District of southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, assessing their abilities and needs.

He is in a unique, new profession called "elderly ability assessor." The job entails carrying out measurements and assessments of older people's health status such as physical health, cognitive ability and mental state.

As an important link in the process of providing scientific and accurate care services for the elderly, the profession has become increasingly popular among the aged in China.

This year, "elderly ability assessor" was officially recognized as a new profession by China's human resources authority.

Chen obtained the elderly ability assessor certificate in 2020. In the past three years, he has helped more than 300 elderly households, offering possibilities for improving their lives in their later years.

"We collect assessment needs through residential communities and the elderly care institutions, and then go to the homes of the elderly people for on-site assessment," Chen said.

He noted that the ability assessors will comprehensively evaluate and score the elderly based on four first-level indicators of physiology, psychology, spirit and social participation, and 22 second-level indicators such as the self-care ability, the risk of getting lost and falling, and the mental state.

The assessment reports will be filed to the community to provide a reference for individual care service.

"It's not an easy job, as it not only requires basic knowledge of nursing and medicine but also love and empathy for the group," Chen said.

Some elderly people have been bedridden for a long time, unable to speak and accompanied by emotional instability, and some are unfriendly due to mental health problems, Chen said. "We need to patiently communicate with them or their family members to learn about and record their health conditions."

An elderly ability assessor not only tracks records of the life of the aged but also makes observations.

"We need to hold frequent in-depth exchanges with these people, understand their life, including their past and current living habits, and conduct regular return visits to timely adjust the service plan," Chen said.

"Everyone will grow old and every elderly person has the right to enjoy a quality old age," he added.

China has one of the fastest-growing aging populations in the world. Official data shows that by the end of 2021, the country had 267 million people aged 60 and above, or 18.9 percent of the total population, while those aged 65 and above accounted for over 14 percent of the population.

The increasing number of older people requires more professional assessors, said Chen, adding that official recognition of this profession provides better career prospects for those who are skilled and interested in helping older people.

"It's also a new occupation that requires more emotional commitment. If my efforts can benefit more families and more seniors, my work will be more meaningful," Chen said.