According to the plan, HCM City entered the population-ageing phase in 2017, when residents aged 60 and above accounted for 10.28 per cent of its population, or more than 889,000 people.
By 2025, following administrative mergers, the elderly population had reached nearly 1.57 million, accounting for 11.4 per cent of residents and making HCM City the locality with the largest elderly population in Vietnam.
The rapid demographic shift is expected to place increasing pressure on healthcare, social welfare and sustainable economic development.
City authorities said a major challenge was the lack of an integrated elderly care system covering prevention, community support, home-based services, long-term residential care and specialist treatment.
The newly approved model will organise services into five interconnected tiers, allowing older people to receive care suited to their health and individual needs.
The first tier focuses on self-care and health promotion, encouraging older residents to maintain healthy lifestyles, undergo regular check-ups, manage health risks and use electronic health records.
The second tier provides community-based support through local health stations, day-care centres and elderly clubs, offering health monitoring, advice, basic rehabilitation and assistance with independent living.
The third tier covers home-based care, including family doctors, home nursing, rehabilitation services and professional caregivers.
The fourth tier involves residential care facilities, including nursing homes and centres providing rehabilitation, dementia care and palliative care, with professional links to the healthcare system.
The fifth tier provides hospital-based treatment for complex conditions, with general and specialist hospitals offering advanced care, professional support and safe transitions after discharge.
Movement between the five tiers will depend on assessments of each person's health, level of dependence and care needs under a citywide framework.
HCM City also plans to develop standardised assessment tools tailored to older residents' health, cultural backgrounds, living conditions and practical care requirements.