This book investigates how rapid socio-political-economic change in China since 1949 has affected intergenerational relationships and practices in rural areas, specifically the care provided to elderly parents by their adult children. It focuses on the lived experiences of rural villagers and their perceptions of the impact of these socio-political changes on intergenerational relationships, care of the elderly, family cohesion, and the traditional value of filial piety. It notably considers the importance of filial piety as a dominant family value, the conflict between strong family bonds and growing desires for individuality and autonomy, the prevalence of migrant work among adult children and the diversification of intergenerational practices, alongside the need for national policy and services development for residential and community-based aged care in rural China.

Declining fertility rates and increased life expectancies over the last few decades have conspired to make China one of the more rapidly aging societies in the world. Aging Families in Chinese Society focuses on the accelerated social and demographic changes in China and examines their implications for family care and support for older adults. Contributors to this landmark volume portray various challenges facing aging families in China as a result of reduced family size, changing gender expectations, rapid economic development and urbanization, rural-to-urban migration, and an emerging but still underdeveloped long-term care system. Divided into four thematic areas – Disability and Family Support; Family Relationships and Mental Health; Filial Piety and Gender Norms; and Long-term Care Preferences – chapters in this volume confront these burgeoning issues and offer salient policy and practice considerations not just for today’s aging population, but future generations to come. Combining quantitative data from social surveys in China, comparative surveys in Taiwan and Thailand, and qualitative data from in-depth interviews, Aging Families in Chinese Societies will be of significant interest to students and researchers in aging and gerontology, China and East Asian Studies and population studies.

In this eye-opening exploration, the authors bring together years of research, on-the-ground insights, and a vision for the future of rural health. Through engaging narratives, data-driven analysis, and thought-provoking case studies, this book sheds light on the critical issues that affect the well-being of millions living outside urban centers. Rural Health - Investment, Research and Implications is an essential read for healthcare professionals, policymakers, researchers, and anyone passionate about the well-being of rural communities. It offers a roadmap to a brighter, healthier future for those often left in the shadows, highlighting the immense potential of rural America and the transformative power of investment and research in shaping a more equitable healthcare landscape. Join the conversation, be part of the solution, and uncover the untapped potential of rural health. This book is a call to action for a healthier, more inclusive future for all.

The first part of the book is entitled 'Family, Transition and Ageing' and addresses rapid social and economic changes in China through a kaleidoscope of differential perspectives that focus on how family continues to be an important reference point for the past, present and future institution in the care of older people. The second part of the book focuses on the tangible social forces associated with managing old age: 'Welfare, Consumption and Ageing'. This section is important in locating the structures and agents of power that are relevant to maintaining trust and social relations between older people, the Chinese State and its dualism of state welfare and consumption of welfare.

This book provides the first foundation of knowledge about the intellectual traditions, contemporary scope and future prospects for the interdisciplinary field of rural gerontology. With a focus on rural regions, small towns and villages, which have the highest rates of population ageing worldwide, Rural Gerontology is aimed at understanding what it means for rural people, communities and institutions to be at the forefront of twenty-first-century demographic change. The book offers important insights from rural ageing studies into today’s most pressing gerontological problems. With chapters from more than 65 established and emerging rural ageing researchers, it is the first synthesis of knowledge about rural gerontology, harnessing a burgeoning interdisciplinary scholarship on the rural dimensions of ageing, old age and older populations. With a view to advancing a critical understanding of rural ageing populations, this book will have an overreaching impact across the social sciences by drawing on advancements in understandings of rural ageing from social, environmental, geographical and critical gerontology to facilitate a comprehensive exploration of the diversity, complexity and implications of the ageing process in rural settings. Bringing together valuable international perspectives, this book makes a timely contribution to gerontology, rural studies and the social sciences, and will appeal to scholars and researchers across USA and Canada, UK and Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, Europe, China and countries in Africa, South America and South-East Asia.

Focusing on social work and social service delivery, this book examines the social policies and programmes designed to address different societal issues and concerns across India and China. It focuses on gaining understanding of design and delivery of social welfare policies related to special interest groups, highlighting important contemporary challenges such as child labour, child abuse, exploitation of women, problems related to disabled people, mental health issue, illiteracy and unemployment. Offering a comparative perspective, the book considers the impact of political administration in both countries to critically assess key issues related to social welfare in two different political, economic, social, and cultural contexts.

With an increasing number of elders moving into nursing homes, the shift from family to nursing home care calls for an exploration of caregiving decision-making in urban China. This study examines how a rapidly growing aging population, the one-child policy, and economic reform in urban China pose unprecedented challenges to the country’s ingrained tradition of family caregiving. It presents interviews of matched elders and their children from a government-sponsored nursing home in Shanghai and analyzes the decision-making process of institutionalization. This book offers fresh insight into the evolving culture and arrangements of caregiving in contemporary Chinese society, illuminating the diverse needs for long-term care of Chinese elders–the world’s largest aging population–in the coming decades.