Perspectives on Care for the Elderly in China

Abstract

bring further humiliation and shame to the family name. Most of the time, community cannot resolve this fundamental conflict and elder abuse issues. Recreational activities help, but cannot address root problems. Chinese culture is heavily family centric, and the belief is "don't wash your dirty linen in public." Bringing community into family problems is not a substitute for children who are filial and not abusive or neglectful. To achieve elder rights and improve the health and well-being of older adults in China, multifaceted social and cultural issues should be addressed.

Health Literacy Mediates the Association Between Socioeconomic Status and Productive Aging Among Elderly Chinese Adults in a Newly Urbanized Community

“…In newly urbanized communities, most elderly lost their land and can no longer do farm work. They may spend more time doing housework and caring for grandchildren, which is a common phenomenon in China, a family-oriented, collectivist country (31,32). At the same time, the relevant policies and infrastructure are still not perfect in the newly urbanized communities, as well as jobs and volunteer service organizations are scarce for the elderly (33).…”

Perceived availability of home‐ and community‐based services and self‐reported depression among Chinese older adults: A cross‐sectional study

“…Our study found that perceived daily life assistance at the community level was negatively associated with depression. Potentially, this could be due to rapid population ageing leading to an increase in the number of older adults in China who are disabled or have other health problems, resulting in increased demand for elderly care (Wu et al., 2017; Yi et al., 2016). Historically, family members were the primary source of support and long‐term care services for older adults in China (You et al., 2020), and older adults used to seek support or care from their children and their spouses.…”