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Toward Family-Focused Geriatric Care for Rural Older Adults in Low- and Lower-Middle-Income Countries

An Overview on Major Constructs, Dimensions, and Factors

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The Palgrave Handbook of Global Social Problems

Abstract

Rural older adults’ access to care is a major global public health policy concern. These older adults’ connection to home, family members, and community is a central episode to their health-related quality of life, but complex correlated health and sociocultural dimensions and factors that shape their use of medical and nonmedical care have not been widely investigated, especially in low- and lower-middle-income countries. Drawing the critical social approach, this chapter contextualizes the ageing and geriatric care patterns for rural older adults living in low- and lower-middle-income countries. It also discusses the major constructs, dimensions, and factors of an age-friendly family-focused geriatric care for them. Two critical social constructs, “emancipation” of Habermas’s “Theory of Communicative Action” and “recognition” of Axel Honneth’s “Theory of Recognition and Misrecognition,” are found practical to underpin the understanding of family-focused care. Six dimensions including various factors are vital in offering the family-focused geriatric care: (i) health knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors; (ii) role of family relationships; iii) affordability; (iv) power hierarchy; (v) recognition of care needs and preferences; and (vi) institutionalization of home care. The dimensions of health knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors and educating family members and recognition of the older adults’ care needs can enhance the cohort’s obtainability and emancipation in accessing rural healthcare services. Attention to the affordable treatments and cultural aspects like minimizing power differences between patient and clinicians and encourage the clinicians to undertake family-focused care programs may improve the rural geriatric care services, leading to the older adults’ positive health and well-being outcomes. To sustain the family-centered elderly care, this study emphasis on the requirement of multiple support systems at local level, and policy responses from the governments.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Health, Medicine & Wellbeing, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia

    Mohammad Hamiduzzaman

  2. Flinders University Rural Health SA, College of Medicine & Public Health, Flinders University, Bedford Park, SA, Australia

    Abraham Kuot

  3. Institute of Social Welfare and Research, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    M. Rezaul Islam

Authors
  1. Mohammad Hamiduzzaman
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  2. Abraham Kuot
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  3. M. Rezaul Islam
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mohammad Hamiduzzaman .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work and Social Welfare, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel

    Rajendra Baikady

  2. Department of Social Work, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India

    S.M Sajid

  3. Nicolaus Copernicus University, Torun, Poland

    Jaroslaw Przeperski

  4. Department of Social Work, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, South Africa

    Varoshini Nadesan

  5. Inst of Social Welfare & Res, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Islam Rezaul

  6. Sch of Philosophy & Social Development, Shandong University, Central Campus, Jinan, China

    Jianguo Gao

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Hamiduzzaman, M., Kuot, A., Islam, M.R. (2021). Toward Family-Focused Geriatric Care for Rural Older Adults in Low- and Lower-Middle-Income Countries. In: Baikady, R., Sajid, S., Przeperski, J., Nadesan, V., Rezaul, I., Gao, J. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Global Social Problems. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68127-2_8-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68127-2_8-1

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