The Chinese old-old (80+) population has steadily increased in recent years; however, limited studies have examined how this group ages. The purpose of this study is to explore how the old-old in urban China define successful aging. Guided by grounded theory, we conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews with community-dwelling old-old participants (N = 97). Participants identified self-reliance as the goal of successful aging, which was supported by four proactive behaviors: physical activity, financial security, community connectedness, and willing acceptance of reality. In our model, we conceptualized these four proactive behaviors to constitute the ribs of an umbrella, supporting a canopy to protect the pole of self-reliant successful aging. This study offers new understanding of the dynamic and nuanced ways that the old-old in urban China age successfully and of their valiant efforts to maintain self-reliance.

The Chinese old-old (80+) population has steadily increased in recent years; however, limited studies have examined how they age. The purpose of this study is to explore how the old-old in urban China define successful aging. Guided by grounded theory, community-dwelling old-old individuals participated in semi-structured, in-depth interviews (N= 97). Participants identified self-reliance as the goal of successful aging, which was supported by four proactive behaviors, including physical activity, financial security, community connectedness, and willing acceptance of reality. These four proactive behaviors were conceptualized to constitute the ribs of an umbrella model offering a canopy to protect the pole of self-reliant successful aging. This study offers new insight in understanding dynamic and nuanced ways that the old-old in urban China age successfully and their valiant efforts to maintain an ideal status.

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The findings suggest that geriatricians, geriatric nurses, and clinical gerontologists who work with cancer survivorsneed to be aware of the ways in which both cancer and noncancer illness factors work together in producing threats to health quality of life through the extent and nature of functional impairments.

The purpose of this study is to explore direct carers' work experience and formal caring relationships with older adults in a community-based eldercare program in Shanghai. Existing evidence has primarily focused on direct carers' work experience in residential care settings. However, direct carers' experiences of caring older adults in the community also deserve exploration. This qualitative study purposively sampled direct carers who worked in government-sponsored programs. Carers participated in semi-structured, in-depth interviews ( N = 37). Results reveal that despite occasional frustration, direct carers undertook demanding workloads and fostered strong emotional attachments with older adult clients. "Karma" was a critical cultural factor pertaining to their work ethic and motivated their care provision to benefit their future elderly selves. This study recognizes the cultural aspects of caring relationships that contribute to the quality of care of the community-based older adults in urban China.