Obstacles and solutions of digital transformation of elderly care services from the dual perspectives of demand and supply

With the rapid growth of demographic aging and advancements in information technology, intelligent transformations for different industries are on countries’ strategic agenda. Industry dedicated to elderly care with both challenges and potential benefits on this journey is widely explored. Traditional pension frameworks are increasingly incapable of dealing with the heterogeneous and dynamic needs of older adults, showing gaps in the quality of care, resource allocation, and accessibility. This paper addresses the challenges and possible solutions of the digital transformation of elderly care services, focusing on both the demand and supply sides. Based on the quantitative survey among elderly residents of a nursing home in Chengdu and in-depth interviews with industry experts, this study has outlined main barriers of this problem: resistance to wearable technology, emotional attachment to human carers, and privacy concerns. From the supply side, findings show that high implementation costs, low profit margins, and data security concerns present considerable challenges to organizations. The research concludes that for effective transformation, there is a need to integrate non-intrusive, human-centered technologies with financial and regulatory support from governments and collaboration with external platforms to ensure data security. By addressing these challenges, the study provides practical recommendations for the establishment of sustainable, accessible, and emotionally rewarding intelligent ecosystems dedicated to elderly care.