12579Southeast University, China.
2495University of Otago, New Zealand.
Nurs Ethics. 2021 Aug;28(5):603-613. doi: 10.1177/0969733020964850. Epub 2020 Nov 15.
In China, the conventional family-based ageing care model is under pressure from social transitions, raising the question of whether and to what extent families are still capable of dealing with the care of the aged.
This article examines the vulnerability and inadequacy of families to bear responsibility for the care of the aged against a backdrop of socioeconomic transformation and diminishing institutional support in rural China.
This article adopts an empirical ethical approach that integrates empirical investigation with ethical inquiry.
The empirical component of this article focuses on the lived experiences of caring for a wife and mother with dementia in one rural Chinese family, collected from a 6-month fieldwork study conducted at one primary hospital.
Approval was obtained from the university ethics committee.
The empirical study highlights a conflicted family process of managing and negotiating care that indicates the inadequacies and limited ability of families to deal with aged care tasks. In addition, inadequate structures and institutional deficiencies exacerbate the vulnerability of rural families and their inability to offer adequate care.
Acknowledging the vulnerability of families as ageing care providers, this article calls for a socially supported family care model for rural older people in China and also proposes policy recommendations.
在中国，传统的家庭式养老模式受到社会转型的压力，家庭是否以及在多大程度上仍然能够承担养老责任的问题受到质疑。
本文探讨了在中国农村社会经济转型和机构支持减少的背景下，家庭在承担养老责任方面的脆弱性和不足。
本文采用实证伦理方法，将实证调查与伦理探究相结合。
本文的实证部分重点关注一个农村家庭照顾一位患有痴呆症的妻子和母亲的生活经历，这些经历是从在一家基层医院进行的为期 6 个月的实地研究中收集的。
本研究获得了大学伦理委员会的批准。
实证研究突出了家庭在管理和协商护理方面存在冲突的过程，表明家庭在应对养老任务方面存在不足和能力有限。此外，结构不健全和制度缺陷加剧了农村家庭的脆弱性，使他们无法提供充分的护理。
本文承认家庭作为养老提供者的脆弱性，呼吁为中国农村老年人建立一个社会支持的家庭护理模式，并提出了政策建议。
