BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.

This paper explores emerging alternative living and care arrangements for elderly people beyond the family, in Nepal. Family-based care and support for the old in Nepal are no longer guaranteed. Elderly people are abandoned or neglected mainly due to massive outmigration of the young and demographic change. As are sult, demand for place in old age homes and care centers is rapidly increasing. Exploratory visits at six different institutions, expert interviews and informal conversations with elderly residents and their relatives offered a first-hand insight into these institutions. Equipped with only the most basic facilities, lack of trained personnel, and major financial reliance on donations, old age homes that receive mainly destitute people, are overstretched and have long waiting lists. This exploratory study concludes that emerging alternative elderly living and care arrangements are much needed in Nepal and that the current facilities are rudimentary. However, the negative picture of old age homes painted by the public media is inaccurate. The study found that elderly people and close relatives are grateful for new options. The increase in the number of such institutions indicates a transformation in attitudes towards intergenerational relations and elderly support options beyond the traditional extended family.

No abstract

Rapid population ageing and massive outmigration have affected the traditional family composition. In villages of the middle hills of western Nepal in particular, outmigration of younger generations has profoundly complicated older people's living conditions. This article sheds light on how the family as a social institution has been influenced by current socio-economic changes linked mainly to ageing and outmigration. Based on in-depth qualitative interviews with older people and on group discussions in five different rural villages, the study explores changes and transformations within the family from an emic perspective of older villagers. Changes in the family include modified living arrangements, a redefinition of roles and status, a redistribution of work among family and household members, changes in the attitude of younger people towards older people and a decline in intergenerational care and support. These changes are perceived by the majority of older people as unjust and of no benefit to themselves. Older people find themselves undergoing a transition phase where state provisions remain largely limited and family support is on the decline and no longer guaranteed. Founded on a tacit intergenerational agreement, the family as the major provider of support in old age is falling apart.