Aging around the World

Aging and the Elderly SOCI 1306 Aging around the World The dependence ratio—the proportion of residents who are not in the labour force due to age, disability, or other reasons—will be significantly impacted by this percentage, which is predicted to rise (Bartram and Roe 2005). China is one nation that is about to experience a severe ageing dilemma since it is about to enter a phase known as the "ageing boom," which will cause a sharp rise in the country's senior population. Approximately 178 million individuals in China are over sixty, or 13.3% of the country's total population (Xuequan 2011). About one-third of Chinese people will be sixty years of age or older by 2050, which would significantly strain the labour force and have an adverse effect on China's economic growth (Bannister, Bloom, and Rosenberg 2010). Globally speaking, it is anticipated that in Central and Southern Asia, Northern Africa and Western Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, the reliance ratio would more than double. Elder care will become a bigger problem as global life expectancy rises and healthcare quality improves. According to Wienclaw (2009), the price of elder care will rise as there are fewer people of working age available to give older people long-term assisted living and home care. The standards that determine the kind and quantity of elder care vary throughout cultures worldwide. For instance, families in Asia are mostly responsible for providing elder care (Yap, Thang, and Traphagan 2005). This contrasts with the majority of Western nations' stance, which views the elderly as autonomous and expects them to take care of themselves. Family members sometimes wait to step in until an older relative needs help, frequently because of poor health. Even yet, taking care of the elderly is optional. In the US, choosing to take care of an ageing relative is frequently contingent upon the prospect of future benefits, such an inheritance or, in some situations, the degree of assistance the old person has historically given the carer (Hashimoto 1996). The cultural perspectives on ageing constitute the foundation for these disparities. Numerous studies conducted in China have observed that filial piety, or the attitude of showing respect and regard to one's parents and ancestors in everything, defines all other qualities (Hsu 1971; Hamilton 1990). Before around 1986, cultural views in Japan validated the notion that older people should get help (Ogawa and Retherford 1993). However, there is now a greater need for community and government care due to profound changes in important social structures, such as the family and the business. For instance, the growing number of women working outside the house has made it more challenging to care for ageing parents in-home, which raises the need for facilities funded by the government (Raikhola and Kuroki 2009). In contrast, a lot of individuals consider taking care of the elderly to be a hardship in the United States. Sixty percent of family carers work outside the house and are unable to offer the necessary help, even in cases when there is a family member who is able and ready to care for an ageing family member. However, there remain gaps in treatment since many middle-class families cannot afford the cost of "outsourcing" professional healthcare (Bookman and Kimbrel 2011). It's crucial to remember that, even in the US, different demographic groups have different views on ageing. While the majority of Americans are reluctant to put their senior family members in out-of-home supported care, Asians, Latinos, and African Americans are the demographic groupings least likely to do so (Bookman and Kimbrel 2011). On a global scale, the US and other developed countries are reasonably well-positioned to meet the needs of an ageing population that is growing at an exponential rate. Peripheral and semi-peripheral countries, however, deal with similar growth without equivalent resources. Elder poverty is a serious issue, particularly for older women. The amount of elderly women in peripheral nations who are unmarried, uneducated, and do not participate in the labour force is a direct cause of the feminization of the ageing impoverished, as seen in such countries (Mujahid 2006). The Second World Assembly on Ageing, which took place in Madrid, Spain in 2002, produced the Madrid Plan, a globally coordinated attempt to develop extensive social policies to meet the demands of the ageing population on a global scale. Three themes are identified in the plan to direct international policy on ageing: 1) empowering the elderly; 2) publicly acknowledging the global opportunities and challenges brought about by an ageing population; and 3) connecting international policies on ageing to international policies on development (Zelenev 2008). Thus far, the Madrid Plan has not been able to accomplish all of its objectives. Nonetheless, it has raised international awareness of the various problems brought about by the world's ageing population as well as the ways in which the factors influencing elderly vulnerability—social exclusion, discrimination and prejudice, and a lack of socio-legal protection—overlap with other developmental issues—basic human rights, empowerment, and participation—resulting in an expansion of legal protections (Zelenev 2008).