Social Enterprise Insights / Written by: Li Mengzhen

As the sun begins to rise, Pei-Hua sways left and right, leading an elderly woman in morning exercises. "Come on, Grandpa, give me your hand." Wen-Tu assists an elderly man with stretching and massage. In the film The Long Goodbye, home care service providers enter the homes of those in need, illuminating the lives of their clients with professionalism and dedication. As Taiwan moves into a super-aged society, the demand for long-term care is expected to rise sharply. But is our long-term care capacity truly sufficient? With declining birth rates leading to labor shortages across various industries, the long-term care sector is no exception. How can we maintain care quality despite limited manpower? Perhaps the introduction of smart technology offers a glimmer of hope.

Examining Taiwan’s Long-Term Care Service Capacity

To assess the current state of Taiwan’s long-term care service capacity, Jubo Technology analyzed 1.5 billion data points from its three major long-term care information systems, along with public data from the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Health and Welfare. The findings were compiled into the Jubo Data Report 2025, published in December 2024. This report aims to provide data-driven insights into the current state and future trends of Taiwan’s long-term care industry. Based on this report, Social Enterprise Insights has identified two key observations:

1. Long-Term Care Service Coverage Reaches 80%, but Regional Disparities Persist

According to statistics from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the percentage of long-term care applicants receiving services has steadily increased over the past three years: from over 50% in 2021 to nearly 70% in 2022, and approximately 80% in 2023. However, the Jubo Data Report 2025 reveals significant regional disparities across the three major types of long-term care services:

• Residential care facilities (where clients reside long-term) have adequate bed availability in some areas but severe shortages in others (see Chart 1).

• Daycare and home care services are concentrated in Taiwan’s six major metropolitan areas, with significantly fewer resources available in rural and island regions (see Chart 2).

This highlights the need for both public and private sectors to work toward a more equitable distribution of long-term care resources in Taiwan.

*(Chart 1: Approved residential care facility bed capacity relative to the elderly population. Source: Jubo Data Report 2025)

*(Chart 2: Distribution of daycare and home care service institutions. Source: Jubo Data Report 2025)

2. Aging Workforce and High Turnover in the Long-Term Care Industry

The Jubo Data Report 2025 further analyzes the age distribution of long-term care workers compared to the national labor market. The findings reveal that nearly half of long-term care workers are aged 45 and above. In contrast, data from Taiwan’s Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting, and Statistics shows that 60% of the national workforce is between 25 and 44 years old, while only 30% are 45 and older. This indicates a significant aging workforce issue in the long-term care sector.

In addition to an aging workforce, the industry also faces high turnover rates. The report’s tenure analysis shows that over 30% of long-term care workers have been in the field for only one to three years. National labor statistics, by comparison, show that more than 40% of workers across all industries have over ten years of experience. Furthermore, nearly half of long-term care employees who resign do so within the first three months, compared to about 40% in the national workforce.

These statistics highlight the sector’s challenges of short tenure and high turnover, underscoring the urgent need for strategies to reduce frontline care workers’ burdens and improve retention rates.

Addressing Long-Term Care Challenges with Smart Technology

Caregiving is a team effort that requires coordination among care attendants, doctors, social workers, nutritionists, and other medical professionals. However, effective collaboration depends on accurate and comprehensive data. Jubo Technology’s founder and CEO, Kang Shih-Chung, notes, “Frontline caregivers, including nurses and social workers, spend over 50% of their time on paperwork and non-direct caregiving tasks, such as phone calls and messaging with families.” He believes that integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into the long-term care field can help solve caregiving challenges by enhancing efficiency and improving service quality.

Deputy Director Wu Hsi-Wen of the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Long-Term Care Division also emphasized at the Jubo Data Report seminar that Taiwan, as a leader in smart technology, is set to support the adoption of smart assistive devices in everyday caregiving by the end of 2024. The ministry also plans to introduce smart care technology standards for long-term care facilities, offering incentives based on performance evaluations. This initiative aims to reduce caregiver workload and enhance service quality while ensuring that both caregivers and care recipients benefit from long-term care services.

Optimizing Data Processing to Reduce Caregiving Burdens

Using technology to solve caregiving challenges relies heavily on data. Jubo Technology applies data science by breaking the process into three stages:

1. Data Entry: Sensors attached to users automatically collect physiological data, eliminating manual input errors and saving time.

2. Data Processing: AI-generated reports analyze trends and detect anomalies in real-time, replacing the manual process of compiling Excel sheets.

3. Data Utilization: Automated data transmission to medical professionals reduces administrative tasks, cutting phone call coordination time by 90%.

While data collection and sharing enhance care efficiency, concerns about privacy and data compatibility must be addressed. Kang acknowledges that AI models can sometimes produce errors due to structural complexity and data quality issues. However, AI’s ability to process medical insights without exposing raw data remains a significant advantage in long-term care.

Leveraging Data Science to Prioritize Human Care

For caregivers, documentation is one of the most time-consuming tasks. “A system with CareGPT-like functionality can assist caregivers in organizing and interpreting data while ensuring privacy protection,” says Kang. By placing data science at its core, Jubo Technology maximizes the value of collected data.

Yu Wan-Chun, director of Yilan Le Anhe Community Long-Term Care Center, states, “The time saved allows caregivers to focus more on individual needs.” Similarly, Huang Hui-Yu, director of Xiangyuan Nursing Home, adds, “Learning a new system is a challenge at first, but reducing workloads is essential for sustainable development. Only by utilizing technology can we dedicate our time to those who matter most.”

Beyond reducing caregiver workload, smart technology also enhances transparency and trust in long-term care. Family members can monitor their loved ones via mobile apps, strengthening relationships between caregivers and recipients. This fosters a win-win-win scenario for institutions, caregivers, and families alike.

Establishing a Smart Long-Term Care Foundation to Solve Industry Challenges

Smart care is becoming a major trend in long-term care, but building a robust ecosystem requires talent. “Many students in long-term care programs decide not to enter the field after graduation,” Kang observes. However, the industry is evolving, with long-term care facilities entering the capital market and new technologies emerging. “The demand for long-term care services will only grow, and the industry is just beginning. We need top talent, from data scientists to software engineers and marketing specialists, to drive its development.”

Kang believes Taiwan’s agility and strong medical workforce provide a competitive edge in the global smart care sector. By exporting Taiwan’s smart long-term care solutions, the industry has the potential to expand internationally. “The next decade will see rapid growth in long-term care technology,” Kang asserts. “We are laying the groundwork now, using technology to solve fundamental caregiving challenges and realizing a vision of more efficient care, peace of mind for families, and dignity for the elderly.”