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This study investigates the gender disparities and cohort differences in the health trajectories of older Chinese adults. Drawn on a nationally representative dataset from the 2008–2018 Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, this paper uses a growth-curve model to identify the health trajectories of older adults in functional limitations, chronic diseases, depressive symptoms and cognitive skills. Older women are found to have slightly fewer functional limitations than older men at an earlier age; however, this gap is reversed later because of women's higher deterioration rate in physical function. Compared to men, older women have more chronic diseases at younger ages, but this trend is changed after age 90 years due to a faster decline rate in chronic diseases for women. The gender gap in the depressive symptom trajectories narrows with age, whereas the gap in the trajectories of cognitive skills widens. The cohort differences favouring later-born cohorts decrease with age in the trajectory of functional limitations. The latest cohort born in 1940 or after has the fastest increase in chronic diseases and depressive symptoms among all the cohorts. These results are further verified using the random-effect model and pooled ordinary least squares. Policymakers should promote gender equality and reduce cohort differences to achieve the national goal of "Healthy China". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been found that people with disabilities remain at the margin as far as the different aspects of their lives are concerned. This paper tests the hypothesis that disability leads to lower quality of life among older adults in low and middle-income countries. The data from the Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE) was used in this study which was conducted in Ghana, China, India, Russia, South Africa and Mexico. The disability scores have been made utilising Item Response Theory, Partial Credit Model and are centered on eight functioning and health areas. Bivariate analysis, binary logistic regression and pooled regression analysis have been used to fulfil the objectives of the paper. The findings reveal that disability acts as a hindrance in attaining a high quality of life (HQOL) amongst the older adults in the above mentioned low and middle-income countries. The older adults with disability are as much as 60% less likely to enjoy an HQOL with respect to the older adults without disability. Better socio-economic development like improved health care for disabled older adults with disability enhanced living standards for both abled and disabled, efficient pension schemes for older adults with disability and effective social service schemes would be very much essential to improve overall QOL among older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carrying out investigations into the relationships between the satisfaction in old-age security and its influence factors is of great significance for safeguarding social fairness and justice. As powerful statistical tools in machine learning, the support vector machine (SVM) and back-propagation neural network (BPNN) algorithms are used to develop nonlinear estimation models for satisfaction in the old-age security in China. Five influence factors (educational background, educational satisfaction, satisfaction with family's financial situation, overall life satisfaction, society overall evaluation) were used as the input features. A SVM model obtained in this paper has prediction accuracies of 78.0% for the training set and 77.5% for the test, and a BPNN model possesses prediction accuracies of 77.8% and 77.0% for the two tests. Obviously, the SVM is superior to the BPNN in predicting satisfaction of old-age security in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though a continued increase in life expectancy is a significant public health achievement, keeping older adults active and maintaining their well-being is challenging. Active aging requires physical health, mental health, functional independence, economic stability, social participation, and spiritual identification. Among all these factors, social cohesion has significant importance, but there is a dearth of studies focusing on older adults' social cohesion. Thus, the present study focuses on the level of social cohesion among older adults and its variation among the different economic classes. This article uses data from the Study on Global AGEing and Adult Health (SAGE) conducted in China, Ghana, India, Mexico, Russia, and South Africa during 2007–10. Social cohesion scores have been constructed using Item Response Theory Partial Credit Model. Also, bivariate analysis, concentration curves, concentration indices, and multivariate regressions have been used for the analysis presented in this paper. This study confirms the strong predictive power of age, wealth, education, and working status of older adults on their social cohesion across the countries. Higher social non-cohesion is found among the economically poor older adults in Mexico, Russia, India, and China. In contrast, it is just opposite in the case of older adults in South Africa. Governments should develop policies to foster a society with a high level of social inclusion, social capital, and social diversity, to achieve further advancement in social cohesion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid demographic change, economic growth, and evolving social norms have put increasing pressure on the traditional system of filial piety and family-based eldercare in China. This paper examines the current role of intergenerational transfers in providing old-age support using nationally representative data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. The analysis explores varied modes of care that exist in rural and urban areas, as well as the role of internal migration in influencing methods of old-age support. The results paint a rich description of the contemporary dynamics between filial obligations and economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With a growing ageing population, productive ageing in China must evolve with the new social and historical context. This paper summarizes the development of the concept of productive ageing in Chinese history and its components. By referring to other related concepts such as social participation among older adults and active ageing, it supplements the conceptual framework of productive ageing and makes it more complete. This paper proposes that the conceptual framework of productive ageing includes not only the social and political participation of older adults but also their contributions within families. It asserts that older adults are the most important part of productive ageing, as both the agents and the beneficiaries, in achieving the ultimate goal of harmonious development of individual and social values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Older adults around the world provide care and support for their family, relatives, and friends. This not only generates immense economic and social value, but is also an important aspect of productive aging. This paper analyzes data from the 2005 Chinese Longitudinal Health Longevity Survey (CLHLS), the 2008 Chinese Residents' Time Use Survey, and a study conducted by the author (Sun Popul J 4:14-18, ). In rural China, because the young labor force works in cities, a large number of 'left-behind children' live with their grandparents. Such cross-generational families made up over a quarter of rural households in 2005. In the cross-generational family, the role and value of caregiving for grandchildren by elderly grandparents has been strengthened, as has the burden of care placed upon them. Based on an analysis of the policies and practices of productive aging, this paper seeks to raise awareness of the enormous caregiving contributions made by older adults. Collecting information on older adult caregiving will help inform a policy framework to provide professional and systematic support, so that family and social care systems can operate effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social participation of older adults, an essential part of the active aging strategy, has drawn more attention in Chinese society and is noted in the literature as having positive outcomes on physical and mental health. Based on the 2000 'Survey of the Older Population in Rural and Urban Beijing' and follow-up surveys in 2006 and 2010, this paper focuses on a descriptive analysis of social participation and the resources necessary to participate and analyzes changing willingness and behaviors regarding social participation among older adults in Beijing. Data show that attitudes about social participation were increasingly positive, and a larger proportion of older adults expressed willingness to participate in society. Social participation among older adults increased between the years 2000 and 2006 but remained flat between 2006 and 2010. This paper analyzes the influence of gender, age, marital status, health, and financial stability on behaviors and attitudes of older adults related to social participation and argues that older adults' attitudes change before behaviors do. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reflects on the meaning of aging in China by reviewing issues of population change centering on the baby boomer generation. Family structure, living arrangements, and long-term care needs of the aged as well as societal responses are re-visited under the general public policy framework of an “economic state in transition.” The development of income support, health care, and personal social services for the elderly is examined by reviewing the 2006 government White Paper and the research literature. Employment, education, and lifestyle issues are further investigated under the United Nations policy framework on active aging. Policy, practical, and theoretical issues in achieving the country’s articulated goals are discussed. Adequate preparation for aging is emphasized by considering the roles of individuals, families, practitioners, and policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines recent developments in elder care homes and changing attitudes toward institutional care in the Tianjin area of China. Based on research conducted at 12 sites, this study compares two types of elder care homes which are competing in the growing Chinese market for institutional elder care: ones characterized as government-owned and others described as "non-government-owned." Findings suggest that, despite rapid growth in the elder care home industry in China, the market is tilted toward the former government-owned elder care homes that still enjoy institutional and bureaucratic advantages in funding, staffing, and insurance. The research also examines the changing connotations of cultural norm in parent care. Traditional attitudes against placing parents in elder care homes are changing; some adult children as well as elders are starting to express acceptance of institutional elder care. The authors argue that institutional care for aging parents is likely to become a major option for parent care as adult children become increasingly unavailable due to the one-child policy, the need to work, and perhaps distant residence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite increasing awareness of mental health problems among older adults, limited mental health services are available to meet their needs. The proposed study aimed to evaluate the need for mental health services among older adults in Shanghai, China, and identify gaps in the existing service system to inform policy making. Based on 80 face-to-face interviews amongst several groups of older adults and community officers, doctors and government stakeholders, the study found that (a) the mental health needs of older adults living with family members mainly present as needs for social interaction, sense of belonging, and self-realization; (b) special groups, such as older adults living alone, mainly desire support to address loneliness, older adults with physical disabilities desire social respect, and those with mental disabilities seek social acceptance; and (c) community cadres and other stakeholders have paid little attention to demands related to mental well-being among older people. It is necessary to deliver mental health education to community stakeholders and the public, popularize mental health knowledge, and publicize professional psychological counseling and treatment services. Meanwhile, policy makers should allocate resources to train professional mental health services personnel to meet these growing mental health needs and increase financial support for mental health services for older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The population of Hong Kong will reach its peak of some 8 million by 2029 with older adults encompassing 25 % of the population. In addressing the challenges of the ageing society, the Government in conjunction with its advisory body for ageing policy (i.e. the Elderly Commission) has adopted an active ageing framework to promote older people's participation in building 'a sense of security, a sense of belonging, and a feeling of worthiness.' The purpose of this paper is therefore, to examine how policy is translated into practice in advancing the well-being as well as enhancing social and civic participation among the elderly. Programs supporting these initiatives, including the (1) Opportunities for the Elderly Project, (2) Elder Academy Scheme, and (3) the Neighborhood Active Aging Project, will be explained and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1997, Hong Kong was returned to China, but it has retained its capitalist socio-economic order under the socialist People’s Republic. It is a Chinese city in which ethnic Chinese constitute a majority of the population. Like other advanced economies, Hong Kong has a gradually ageing population. The virtue of respecting the older people, as a facet of traditional Chinese normative order, is facing challenges from rapid social changes. Urban development has posed a considerable threat to implementing the policy of ‘ageing in place’. Divergent paths are being taken in the public and private sectors respectively in the effort to enable older people to remain living in familiar physical and social environments. Market forces in private sector redevelopment usually bring about gentrification, which results in the dislocation of older people. In the public sector, massive public housing programmes can be beneficial to older people affected by re-development by permitting in-situ relocation. The government’s community care policy also helps to achieve ageing-in-place. This paper provides an account and analysis of the challenges and opportunities in accomplishing the principle of ageing-in-place in the capitalist Chinese city of Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is a widely accepted observation that many older Hong Kong residents have lived periodically on the Chinese mainland since the relaxation of restrictions on cross-border mobility and the closer connection between Hong Kong and the mainland. This paper explores and compares the determinants of various modes of residential mobility by Hong Kong retirees to the Pearl River Delta based on the data of two samples one from Hong Kong and the other from the mainland. The findings support those of studies in Western societies that the decision of elderly residential mobility can be effectively predicted by the personal attributes, place ties, and person ties of the retirees, and that the effects of these factors vary with different modes of retiree mobility. The implications of these findings for the formulation of migration and housing policies for the older population and the economic development of amenity communities are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a case study which reveals how the 'one-child policy' of Chinese Government changes the condition of an aging society, radically modified the structure of the population, and created eldercare a more difficult task. It also mentions increase in the suicide rates among older people in China and Chinese governmental expenditures on healthcare.

This study explores the unique experiences of the emotional processing of the widowhood of individuals of the Chinese seniors, and immigrant background in the United States. By interviewing eight Chinese immigrant widows living in Phoenix, the United States, this study focuses on the comparison of social relations and lifestyles before and after their spousal loss, as well as the unique forces of their Chinese backgrounds and the transnational remarriages in their bereavement process, and then widow status. The narrative accounts of the participants therein illustrate that transnational marriage and blended families generate a series of practical challenges, including unexpected severed friendships and inheritance disputes between stepmother and stepchildren. The consequences are reflected in the increase of self-loathing and low self-esteem, the refusal to remarry, the rising anger at the betrayal of friends, as well as the rapid formation of a high level of independence and self-determination in such circumstances. These findings increase knowledge of widowhood of Chinese women with immigrant background, therein enrich ethno-cultural diversity in the widowhood studies.This study concludes with the implications of providing bilingual legal aid and counseling to Chinese-origin, US-based, and widows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on patterns and influences of return migration behavior in mainland China, (n = 468 individuals ages 50 and above) from a life-course perspective, using the 2011 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). Utilizing spatial analysis, we found return migration geographic patterns mainly from the frontier and urban centers to central provinces, involving migrant workers returning to their rural homes. We used logistic linear modeling to examine the correlations between personal attributes (e.g., age, gender, marital status), environmental aspects (e.g., community characteristics, housing conditions, geographic attributes), and return migration. Historical and socioeconomic factors affected return migration, including availability parents to provide care, declining personal health, improved housing infrastructures, and better access to community services. Our findings also show the productive social role of caregiving as a reason for migration, calling for flexible policies in China's social welfare system, comprehensive senior living facilities, and adequate support systems in rural communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines dominant Chinese national policies on aging to assess the extent to which they attend to caregiving for the elderly by seniors. While seniors' contributions to eldercare do receive scattered mention in such policies, the focus is on elders' need for and traditional right to support and care, together with the obligation of younger adult sons and daughters to resist social decline in filial values. Where mentioned, it is the sporadic extraordinary offerings of skilled professionals that are highlighted, rather than the informal everyday efforts of ordinary senior men and women. International sources focused on productive aging recommend that aging societies forge a better policy balance between meeting seniors' needs and tapping their continuing potential. This balance may be especially important for China, as a developing nation that has "gotten old before getting rich." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the impact of housing reform on eldercare patterns through examining the social causes for the increasing phenomenon of elder mistreatment in urban China. Based on my ethnographic fieldwork in Shanghai, this article suggests a new eldercare pattern, including prioritized conjugal care, 'heritage-based' adult-child care, as well as housing-for-pension care. This pattern has been constructed in the post-reform era in Chinese urban areas, which lays a foundation for a culture-related elder mistreatment. Three cultural categories of elder mistreatment have been identified: neglect and/or intergenerational conflicts, family care and ties contingent upon inheritance of the seniors' houses, and 'structural mistreatment.' Further examination suggests three major factors contributing to the emerging phenomenon of elder mistreatment: (1) privatization of housing ownership resulting in social-spatial differentiation of living affecting care patterns and potential for mistreatment of the elderly; (2) sociocultural limitations and structural restrictions on approaching social eldercare resulting from an economically-focused social environment; and (3) transformed social values, such as materialism and individualism, which have led to reinterpretation of intergenerational exchange. By contextualizing elder mistreatment within housing reform, this study offers a new perspective for studies of the family in post-reform China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a new model for caring the old aged people of China which include the purchasing of communities services from professional non-governmental organizations (NGOs) by the government of China. Topics discussed include details of a notice passed by the Ministry of Civil Affairs regarding the development of NGOs, impacts of communities services, and the evolving roles of social service organizations and the government.

This study explores the phenomenon of grandparent caregiving in two different cultural contexts, the U.S. and China. We begin with an overview of the evolution of grandparent caregiving in the U.S., including the strengths and service needs of this population. We then provide background information on left-behind children and grandparents in rural China. With this group in mind, we review a range of evidence-based practices, programs, and policies that have been implemented to support grandparent caregiving in the U.S. Keeping in mind the similarities and differences between the two societies, we conclude with recommendations for adapting these interventions to the Chinese context. This comparative approach furthers our knowledge of how families in diverse contexts around the world are adapting to the challenges of grandparent caregiving and contributes to the building of a core evidence base for interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By the end of 2008, the total number of people aged 60 and over represented 12% of the general population of China. The government, civil society, as well as the families of China are altogether facing new challenges as they rapidly enter an unprecedented era of an ageing society. Indeed, the problems that need solving are numerous: many older persons do not have enough food and access to health care not to mention the lack of access to education and other social resources; they have little opportunity to participate in social development and receive meaningful income and little say in the policy making process with regards to their own well-being. The older persons are also often without housing and entirely dependent on their children's income and generosity due to the rural foundation land distribution system. The older persons thus face many difficulties at the end of their life due to the family-based care-giving system. Furthermore, the life of elderly women is found to be more difficult than that of elderly men. Under the framework of the United Nations Principles for Older Persons, this research seeks to take a first cut at properly identifying the contemporary circumstances of the older persons in China. In addition, in dialogue with the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Aged, this research interprets the current issues and challenges in protecting the rights and interests of the older persons, and proposes strategies and activities with the aid of the Report of the Second World Assembly on Aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China launched new rural social endowment insurance in 2009 in order to guarantee the basic livelihood of rural elderly. This study explores the quality of life for the Chinese rural elderly in this context. The survey was conducted in Jiangsu province and its content included four critical aspects: physical health, economic status, elderly care, and loneliness. Six hundred and sixty four (664) elders aged over 60 were investigated between July and August 2010. Our findings reveal that a portion (16.2%) of rural elderly people were still in poor health condition, those over 80 years were particularly in need of healthcare and medical payment tended to be more socialized. Besides, most of the rural elderly had little monetary support and their living standards were comparatively low. Child support, agricultural income, and rural pension were their main sources of livelihood. The functional ability of self-care declined gradually with aging. Although the families basically met their caring needs, there is lack of concern on this aspect by the local communities. A considerable proportion (12.5%) of rural elderly often felt lonely and majority of them were short of entertainment activities. According to these findings, adequate attention for rural elders' living situation should be emphasized by improving the old-age social welfare system in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2030, 22% of Hong Kong's total population will be aged 60 or older. Unfortunately, the Hong Kong Government still views ageing within the context of 'disengagement theory', and discussions of 'Active Ageing' remain scarce in Hong Kong. In order to define and advocate Active Ageing in our local context, and to urge the Government to plan comprehensively for the ageing society, we conducted a research (from 2007 to 2009) on the life patterns of active older people. Our objectives were to discover: (1) how active older people organized their everyday lives; and (2) how the urban environment enabled older people to maintain a quality lifestyle. Invited to semi-structured interviews, 50 informants had responded to a set of questions about their everyday life patterns. They also commented freely on the quality of their lives and the city's degree of age-friendliness. We tried to categorize and analyze the daily life patterns of our informants according to the themes established by the Quality of Life model established by Gabriel and Bowling Ageing and Society, 24(5), 675-691 () and that of Raphael et al. Health & Place, 7, 179-196. (). With the findings, we construct a schematic summary of 'Active Ageing' for the local context. We conclude that older people, when in good health and possessing sufficient resources, strive for a quality life filled with possibilities. Our research aims to help enact a 'paradigm shift' that goes beyond the disengagement theory, while establishing a context planning for the coming of the ageing society in Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the intergenerational solidarity theory, the author examined how functional solidarity (intergenerational support regarding to elder care) impacts normative solidarity (filial piety) among families with migrated children in rural China. Data was drawn from a survey of 1,443 elders in three inland migrant-exporting provinces of China. The study revealed the following findings: (1) the elders did not evaluate children's filial piety lower after their migration, which suggests an adjustment on the elderly parents' part regarding the traditional expectations of filial piety. (2) Migrated son's filial piety was indeed evaluated lower than those of daughters, which suggests a continuation of the traditional norms of patrilinealty for filial piety. (3) Elderly parents' evaluations of migrated children's filial piety were positively related to migrated children's provision of financial care. (4) Elderly parents who took care of grandchildren had a positive evaluation of filial piety than those who did not. (5) An exchange-based intergenerational support mechanism did not have an impact on rural elderly parents' evaluation of children's filial piety. The author concludes that taking into consideration of the economic and cultural context of rural China, functional support, in the form of intergenerational support and exchange, suggest the continuation as well as changes of filial piety among rural families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grounded in a literature review, current living arrangements and housing conditions of the elderly in China are investigated with new empirical evidence. Survey data of September 2009 included a total of 692 Chinese households with a focus on elderly members. Major findings are: (1) living arrangements of the Chinese elderly were diverse, but the majority were living independently, or in 'empty nests,' with 67.8% of the respondents not living with their adult children; (2) housing and community facilities for the elderly were inadequate (especially those serving the disabled); (3) no significant group difference was found in the utilization of public facilities by the elderly; (4) the workplace ( Danwei) was no longer a dominant source of housing assistance; and (5) housing conditions and property rights as part of the social stratification in China reflected different occupational statuses before retirement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the author examines the undervaluation of caregiving—taken to be the day-to-day provision of material and emotional support necessary to enable life and alleviate suffering—in contemporary biomedical training and practice. Taking a crosscultural approach, the author highlights the institutional structures, practices and values that support an increasingly technocratic and bureaucratic model of care in biomedicine as it is organized in China and the United States. Drawing from personal experience as caregiver to his wife, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, as well as from ethnographic research into local moral experiences of illness, suffering and healing in varied contexts, the author shows that this biomedical model of care fails to attend to the basic, socially grounded conditions, needs and concerns of—that which matters most to—patients and their loved ones as they suffer, endure and confront the genuine existential reality of the human condition. The author concludes that caregiving, or recognizing and addressing those conditions, needs and concerns that shape suffering and illness experience, must be a central component of training and practice if clinicians are to realize a more humane, just, and ethical model of biomedicine. He points to the success of global health leaders who simultaneously address the local biological, socio-structural and cultural facets of suffering among the world’s poorest to illustrate what can be accomplished when biomedical practitioners implement the caregiving model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Objective of this study is to examine the knowledge, use, and development of a healthy lifestyle, and the association with positive ageing, in a convenient sample of 2,970 community-living Hong Kong Chinese People aged 40–74 years stratified by age. A questionnaire containing items from these three domains (avoidance of disease, physical and cognitive functioning, engagement with life) was administered from which a positive ageing index was calculated. A lifestyle score was calculated from information regarding current knowledge, use, and development of a healthy lifestyle (relating to diet, exercise rest and relaxation, smoking habit and alcohol use). The association between lifestyle score and the positive ageing index was weaker compared with income and education level. We conclude that knowledge, use and development of a healthy lifestyle did not contribute greatly to the positive ageing process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of culture on contributory behaviors within the context of family, friends, and neighbors among the oldest old in the United States and in China. The study was conducted in suburban areas of Boston in 1996 (n = 465), and later in 1999 a replication of the study was conducted by Chinese researchers in urban areas of Shanghai, China (n = 539). This study found some common factors such as objective measure of health status, assistance received from others, and group affiliation. However, many differences emerged in the study. The range of contributory behaviors toward friends is quite different between the two samples. Some of the correlates' impact is also culturally specific, such as sibling support. These differences reflect variation in respondents' social support as well as social structural differences. Findings from this study suggest that providing more opportunities for elders to participate in groups would facilitate their participation in volunteer activities and improve their overall well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details a study which compared the educational interests and motivations of older adults in Australia and China. Background on educational movement in each country; Classifications of educational programs; Factors that motivate older adults to participate in lifelong learning programs.

Discusses the housing situation of the elderly people in Hong Kong, China. Relationship between housing and family care; Effects of various housing policies to elderly adopted by the Hong Kong government; Conclusions.