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The Role and Wellbeing of Female Family Caregivers in the Provision of Aged Care in China

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Abstract

There has been inadequate understanding in the literature of the role of family members in providing aged care in a population experiencing rapid ageing, and the subsequent effects on caregiving family members. Using the data of the China Health and Nutrition Survey, this study examines the involvement in aged care provision at home of Chinese women and investigates the effect of care provision on the wellbeing of female family caregivers. The results indicate that Chinese women are increasingly and more intensively involved in caring for elderly parents at home. Based on the instrumental variable method, this study also demonstrates that caring for parents/parents-in-law at home exerts a clear negative effect on female family caregivers’ wellbeing, though no effect of caregiving on the life satisfaction of female family caregivers was detected. The study suggests that, although provision of formal aged care has been increasing rapidly in recent years in China, the burden of caring for parents on Chinese families has not been relieved. Comprehensive policy support is needed for family caregivers to enhance their wellbeing and improve conditions in caregiving, given that demand for aged care services—family-based or otherwise—will be overwhelming in the coming decades.

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Notes

  1. Please note that whether suffering chronic diseases is included in \({X}_{i}\) in Models 5–8 but not in Models 1–4.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Macquarie University for a generous cotutelle Ph.D. Scholarship for this study.

Funding

This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China [Grant Number 2018YFC2000603], the National Office for Philosophy and Social Science of China [Grant Number 20ZDA076], and the Committee of Science and Technology of Beijing [Grant Numbers Z191100004419001].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management, Macquarie Business School, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia

    Guogui Huang & Fei Guo

  2. Institute of Population Research, Peking University, Beijing, China

    Guogui Huang & Gong Chen

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  1. Guogui Huang
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Correspondence to Guogui Huang or Gong Chen.

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Huang, G., Guo, F. & Chen, G. The Role and Wellbeing of Female Family Caregivers in the Provision of Aged Care in China. Soc Indic Res 159, 707–731 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-021-02769-6

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