KIHASA has published the February issue of the Health and Welfare Policy Forum (No. 340) with the monthly focus on "Current State and Issues of Home-Based Social Services for Aging in Place." (Click here to download the articles.)

SUMMARY OF THE FOREWORD

Korea is on the verge of becoming a “super-aged” society this year as the share of people aged 65 and older is set to exceed 20 percent of the population. Against this background, home-based social services have gained prominence as a critical tool for supporting older adults in aging in place. Over the years, traditional care policies centered on residential care have shown limitations, such as the increasing financial burdens they entail, while more seniors have come to prefer to age at home. In response, Korea’s elder policies since the 2010s have increasingly focused on facilitating aging in place. Achieving this goal requires expanding home-based social services and enhancing service delivery to better meet the diverse needs older adults face in daily life.
This month’s Health and Welfare Forum focuses on the “Current State and Issues of Home-Based Social Services for Aging in Place,” bringing together four articles discussing the theme. One article reviews the 2024-enacted Integrated Community Care Act, discussing its main provisions and areas for improvement. Another article examines health support designed to help home-dwelling older adults maintain daily living, with special reference to home-based health care. The author of the third article discusses the current state of housing support for older adults, deriving implications for improvement. The last article explores the current state of social services that, as part of aging-in-place care, support older adults nearing the end of life, enabling them to live in their familiar community settings until their final moments. We hope the discussion presented here will contribute to improving home-based social services for older adults and advancing aging-in-place in Korea.

FOCUS OF THE MONTH: Current State and Issues of Home-Based Social Services for Aging in Place 

"Issues in the Integrated Community Care and the Implementation of the Integrated Community Care Support Act," Seo Dongmin, Baekseok University

Enacted in March 2024, the Integrated Community Care Support Act is set for full-scale implementation in 2026. This article assesses the law based on its main provisions, highlights its significance and issues, and discusses areas needing improvement. It is crucial at this stage to precisely define the characteristics and scope of the target groups for integrated community care support. There is also a clear need to systematize the eligibility criteria, the application process, and the identification of those in need of such support. Local conditions must also be considered when establishing integrated care support services and related agencies. Different service programs and their respective guidelines should be amended so that they can function in a linked and coordinated manner. In addition, the governance of integrated care can be organized through a horizontal, cooperative network of local government authorities and private sector stakeholders. In community-based delivery, the role of responsible agencies must be strengthened, with a professional workforce secured. As fiscal conditions differ widely across municipalities of different tiers, the national government needs to consider taking measures to bolster local governments in building up their fiscal foundations and capacities.

"Current State of Home-Based Health Care and Suggestions for Its Institutionalization," Kim Hee-Nyun, KIHASA

While societal interest in home-based health care is growing, comprehensive research on its current state and future development remains limited. This article examines ongoing home-based health care projects, exploring their services and identifying their systemic limitations. I present recommendations on what should be done at a national policy level to institutionalize home-based health care for the public’s benefit.

"Elder Housing Support for Aging-in-Place: Current State and Areas for Improvement," Lim Deokyoung, KIHASA

This article analyzes the current state of elder housing support, identifies areas for improvement, and explores policy options for advancing aging-in-place. The homeownership rate may be high among elderly households in Korea, but these elderly homeowners lack housing security, as their homes are in many cases dilapidated and involve heavy financial costs. Existing housing support policies targeting older adults, focused on facility-based caregiving and public rental housing, lack measures for providing these seniors with care and support in their own homes. Therefore, it is necessary to shift the focus of housing support policies for seniors from residential relocation to increasing support for the maintenance of their homes. Enhanced support is needed, particularly for home renovation, home-based care provision, and housing maintenance costs. The framework of elder housing policies should be designed in a way to ensure that older adults live securely, with dignity, in the community.

"Issues in End-of-Life Social Services for Community-Dwelling Older Adults," Kim Yuhwi, KIHASA

This article examines the state of end-of-life social services for home-dwelling older adults and suggests ways to improve these services so that older adults may live and die with dignity in their own communities. I categorize end-of-life social services into three areas―support for self-determination, end-of-life care, and funeral support―and examine the current status and limitations of each. I argue that enabling home-dwelling older adults to conclude their lives with dignity requires enhancing hospice care, strengthening the integration of care services rather than delivering them in a segmented manner, improving service information systems, increasing support for families, and advancing home-based end-of-life procedures and related information.

POLICY ANALYSIS AND TRENDS

"A Comparison of Income and Assets in the Early and Late Baby-Boomer Cohorts," Lee Jumi, KIHASA

The early-cohort baby boomers, born between 1955 and 1963, have already entered their retirement years. In the next ten years, the larger late cohort, consisting of individuals born between 1964 and 1974 and aged 50 to 60 as of 2024, will have passed the statutory retirement age of 60. Given the high poverty rate persisting among the elderly, policy measures targeting these baby boomers should be designed with a clear understanding of their income and asset characteristics. This article examined the early and late cohorts, focusing on how they differ from one another in terms of income and asset situations, economic participation. The two cohorts differed in the accumulation and use of income and assets, likely due to the differing socioeconomic conditions of their respective economic engagement periods. This article further discusses the need for policy responses tailored to the characteristics of each baby-boomer cohort.

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