Pei Xiaomei, Luo Hao, Lin Zhiyong, Keating Norah, Fast Janet
Department of Sociology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
Department of Human Ecology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2N1, Canada.
J Cross Cult Gerontol. 2017 Sep;32(3):357-372. doi: 10.1007/s10823-017-9330-8.
This paper explores the content and extent of the burden of caregiving for Chinese families in transition. It sets out to understand how Chinese families manage to balance family caregiving responsibilities with employment, the impact of the existing social institutions on family caregiving practices, and the risks that caregivers have to face. Data were collected from a sample of 214 workers from 14 manufacturing companies in an industrialized city in central China in 2013. Analysis revealed that common types of eldercare were assisting with activities of daily living and medical related care; middle aged employed respondents were most likely to be the caregivers to older family members; financial and time demands of care were challenging for caregivers, but women with more education and a secure job responded to the pressure of care giving better than those with less education and insecure jobs. An absence of workplace policies to support family caregivers was reported to create insecure employment conditions among middle aged workers. The findings imply an urgent need for legislative action and workplace policy that support family caregiving in China.
本文探讨了转型期中国家庭的照护负担的内容和程度。它旨在了解中国家庭如何平衡家庭照护责任与就业，现有社会制度对家庭照护实践的影响，以及照护者必须面对的风险。2013年，从中国中部一个工业化城市的14家制造公司的214名工人样本中收集了数据。分析显示，常见的老年照护类型是协助日常生活活动和医疗相关照护；中年在职受访者最有可能成为老年家庭成员的照护者；照护的经济和时间需求对照护者来说具有挑战性，但受教育程度较高且工作稳定的女性比受教育程度较低且工作不稳定的女性更能应对照护压力。据报告，缺乏支持家庭照护者的工作场所政策会导致中年工人就业条件不稳定。研究结果表明，中国迫切需要立法行动和工作场所政策来支持家庭照护。
