Ruru Ping‘s research focuses on equity in long-term care financing and access, informal caregiving and time use, and the social determinants of healthy ageing. She employs a range of quantitative methods to analyse nationally representative survey data and evaluate long-term care policies. She is an Assistant Professor at the Hitotsubashi Institute for Advanced Study, Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo, Japan. Ruru holds a PhD in Economics from Hitotsubashi University, an MSc in Global Health from London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and a BSc in Psychology from the University of Warwick.

At the GOLTC, Ruru has co-authored the Japan and China Long-Term Care system profiles and has written a blog on the Paradox of Careving: how daily time use shapes wellbeing in Japan, as well as presenting on Long-Term Care policy updates in Japan.

We have asked Ruru:

How did you start working on long-term care?

I began working on long-term care during my MSc in Global Health at LSE, where my dissertation focused on projecting the demand for and costs of dementia care in China. During my master’s degree, I also contributed to the World Alzheimer Report 2016 for Alzheimer’s Disease International. As Japan is one of the world’s most rapidly ageing societies, I pursued a PhD in Economics at Hitotsubashi University, one of Japan’s leading research universities in social sciences. My doctoral research examined how the sustainability of China’s long-term care system could be strengthened through insights from Japan’s long-term care system. Since then, my research has expanded to examine equity in long-term care financing and access, as well as family caregiving and time use, with the aim of generating evidence to support more equitable and sustainable long-term care systems.

How do you think your work can help make a difference?

My goal is to generate rigorous evidence to support more equitable and sustainable long-term care systems. As populations age rapidly, policymakers face difficult decisions about how to finance care, allocate limited resources, and support both care recipients and family caregivers. Through research on long-term care financing, access, and family caregiving, I aim to identify which policies promote equity and which may unintentionally widen disparities. Using large-scale, nationally representative survey data and quantitative policy evaluation methods, I assess the effectiveness of long-term care reforms and their impacts on equity, service use, household financial burden, and family caregivers’ wellbeing. I hope my work contributes to the development of equitable and financially sustainable long-term care systems.

What role has GOLTC played in supporting your work on long-term care?

The GOLTC has been instrumental in supporting my work by providing an international platform for collaboration and knowledge exchange. Through the Observatory, I have had the opportunity to contribute to the Japan and China Long-Term Care system profiles, share my research through blogs and policy presentations, and engage with researchers and policymakers from different countries. These experiences have broadened my perspective on long-term care systems and enabled me to place my research in a broader international context. I also value the opportunity to learn from colleagues with diverse disciplinary and international expertise, which continues to inspire and shape my work.