Stakeholders' authentic experiences with unaccompanied care services:A grounded theory qualitative study

Background Rapid aging in China has increased hospitalizations, straining the traditional family-based care model. The newly implemented national unaccompanied care service addresses this by transferring inpatient daily care to professional medical care assistants. The authentic experiences of stakeholders in this new model are underexplored. Methods A qualitative study guided by Straussian and Corbinian grounded theory. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 42 stakeholders from a tertiary hospital in Hunan Province in September 2025. Results The authentic experiences of stakeholders in unaccompanied care services were established as a core category, which was influenced by three main categories: the reconstruction of a sense of security during the transfer of care responsibility, the dilemma of compatibility between professional care and humanistic needs, and the balance among authority, responsibility, and resources in service operation. Nine categories formed from 36 initial concepts were included under the three main categories. Conclusions The transition to unaccompanied care involves profound psychological, relational, and systemic shifts. Ensuring its sustainable and humanistic development requires a multi-faceted transformation: a cultural shift from familial filial piety to social care justice; policy recognition of medical care assistants' emotional labor; and human-centered technological application that empowers rather than replaces human care. This study provides a crucial theoretical foundation and empirical insights for optimizing care service policies and practices, offering valuable implications for global aging societies navigating similar transitions.