How to Realize Self-support of the Elderly in Rural Areas:A Field Study from the Perspective of Elderly Care in Place
The self-support of the elderly in rural areas is a common mode of elderly care.The existing studies mainly focus on the rural elderly self-support from the perspective of family transformation and land security,which is short of comprehensive and procedural investigation.From the perspective of elderly care in place,this paper constructs an analytical framework of"local-social elderly care",and explains why the order of self-supporting of the elderly in rural areas is possible based on the field study in Sanping Village of Shayang County,Hubei Province.The results show that,first,"local area"is the foundation for the rural elderly self-support,and it includes three dimensions including economy,society,and culture,which correspond to agricultural production that provides livelihood support,acquaintance relationships that provide informal support,and family ethics and community norms to generate spiritual experience.Second,relying on the"local area",the self-supporting of the elderly in rural areas presents a social ageing process of gradual withdrawal from the structures of production,society,and family.The self-support of the elderly in rural areas forms a common type of elderly care in place with local characteristics.In this regard,actively coping with the ageing of the population and comprehensively promoting rural revitalization should take the self-support of the elderly in rural areas as an advantageous basis,and provide corresponding policy support and resources.
Rural ElderlySelf-support of the ElderlyAgeing-in-PlaceSocial Aging