13:40-15:20 | Room 707 Satuday Onsite Presentation Session 3

Aging and Gerontology

Session Chair: Natalia Ozegalska-Lukasik

13:40-14:05

69193 | Determinants of Self-Reported Health of Ageing People in Nepal

Mahendra Prasad Sharma, Tribhuvan University, Nepal

The health of the elderly has become a growing concern as the aging population increases. Self-reported health is a widely used measure of health status through individuals. This study has utilized data from Nepal Ageing Survey 2015 which is the biggest survey on aging in Nepal till now. This study includes seven major composite variables: demographic, socio-cultural, economic, support and care, modernization, living arrangement, and health-related variables. There are altogether 40 independent variables under these composite variables. Regarding the health status of elderly people by differentiating along with the most significant variables the binary logistic regression analysis is used where only the 11 most significant variables are selected for the purpose of the best-fitting model. They are; age, sex, literacy status, acceptance of advice of household members, religion, working wage job, the sufficiency of property, nutrition, caring condition, enthusiasm, and medical treatment receiving status. This research has identified the major eleven factors which have a significant positive impact on elderly health based on large-scale national data for the first time in the history of Nepal.

Male elderly are more likely to be in good health condition than females. Low educational attainment increases the chances of reporting poor health. Age structure, Advice accepted in the family, religion, working wage jobs, sufficient food, and property, receiving medical treatment facilities, and proper care as per the elderly interest, and enthusiasm are the major predictor variables to support the good health of elderly people.

14:05-14:30

68044 | The Development of China’s Community Care and Its Impact on Older Adults’ Health and Subjective Wellbeing: 19982018

Shibin Yan, Rutgers University, United States

As China has experienced rapid population aging, the demand for elder care services has increased dramatically. The gap in service demand has become especially concerning because the traditional provision of eldercare heavily relies on informal care provided by the family. Social and demographic transformations have made the family-reliant care model unsustainable. Community care has become a reasonable and practical option to balance the care demand in China. While community care plays a significant role in elder care provision, care regimes scholars focus more on the study of care provided by the state, market, or family but less on the community sector, especially on the effect of community care on the health and subjective well-being of older adults. Using eight waves of national longitudinal data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Study, the paper aims to analyze the development of community care services, assess the links between community care and family support, and evaluate the impact of community care on the health status and SWB of total Chinese older adults and subpopulation groups (such as childless and disabled older adults). The preliminary results of the fixed effect models showed that the perceived availability of community care services predicted a better health status and life satisfaction of older adults in China. However, the effect of community care services varies by different types of community care services and subpopulations. The study helps to deeply understand the development of community care, and its effect on their health.

14:30-14:55

69058 | Rebuilding the Lives of Older Adults Through Save Iwate

Reggy Figer,

Hokkaido University, Japan

On March 11, 2011, a destructive earthquake and tsunami hit the Tohoku area which resulted in thousands of people’s deaths. Since the magnitude of the disaster was massive, local and national governments, as well as non-government organizations (NGOs) and non-profit organizations (NPOs) had to step in to effectively respond to the needs of the affected communities. In this essay, I examine how SAVE Iwate, an NPO in Morioka City, assisted the victims of the catastrophe. In particular, I delve into how SAVE Iwate helped and supported the older adults who had evacuated from the coastal areas to Morioka City in rebuilding their lives. I discuss the different capacity building and human resource development programs and projects aimed to better and regain purpose in their lives among the elderly survivors. Last, I consider some issues that older adults were confronted as they rebuild their lives in their newfound “home”.

14:55-15:20

68372

| Study on the Meaning of Chinese Filial Obligation and Forms of Family Care for the Elderly

Natalia Ozegalska-Lukasik, Jagiellonian University, Poland

Chinese elderly care for centuries was shaped by the fact that support for older adults was considered the first and foremost responsibility of the immediate family. This has also been reflected in the Chinese Government’s elderly care policy, governed by a 90/7/3 formula, which aims for 90 percent of seniors to remain at home, 7 percent to stay at intermediate facilities, and 3 percent at nursing homes. In recent years, the function of families acting as aging support resources has weakened. It is not only due to the demographic situation of Chinese society but also decreased both capabilities of adult children to take care of their old parents and their willingness to provide aging support for the elderly. This contribution aims to provide the current outlook on the understanding of filial obligation. Based on collecting reflections of Chinese with at least one living parent, the research studies their relationship with dependents and their readiness to provide support. We consider both the physical and psychological aspects of elderly care. Besides examining filial responsibilities, deeply enrooted in other state-of-art studies, we also try to underline demographic and geographical variabilities.

15:35-17:15 | Room 707