Lobo Eunice, Babu Giridhara Rathnaiah, Mukherjee Debarati, van Schayck Onno C P, Srinivas Prashanth Nuggehalli
Indian Institute of Public Health-Bengaluru, Public Health Foundation of India, Bengaluru 560038, India.
PHFI Centre for Developmental and Lifecourse Research, Bengaluru 560038, India.
Healthcare (Basel). 2025 Jun 18;13(12):1459. doi: 10.3390/healthcare13121459.
: Caregivers in urban settings often face unique challenges in providing nurturing care. This qualitative study explores the complex realities of caregiving among mothers and grandmothers in urban poor neighbourhoods of Bangalore, South India. Grounded in Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, this is the first study in urban India that examines how caregivers' perceptions, along with individual and systemic factors, shape caregiving practices in this setting. : In-depth interviews (IDIs) were conducted with 22 mothers and grandmothers of 4-6-year-old children from the urban MAASTHI cohort in Bangalore, South India. Topic guides were developed, pre-tested, and piloted. IDIs were conducted in local languages ( and ). Transcripts were coded using NVivo 12 plus and analyzed via a thematic analysis approach using Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems framework to organize themes. : At the microsystem level, caregivers engaged with children through storytelling and play, though competing demands like household chores often constrained these interactions. Disciplining techniques varied, and the absence of fathers placed additional burdens on mothers. The mesosystem revealed the critical role of extended family in providing support. At the exosystem level, unsafe neighbourhoods limited children's opportunities for outdoor play. The macrosystem highlighted how religious values provided moral frameworks for parenting and the presence of stigma against single mothers. The chronosystem explored declining social support over time and challenges. : These findings emphasize that caregiving inequities are not isolated but structurally embedded, demanding interventions that address sociocultural, economic, and spatial barriers to equitable support for caregivers, particularly those in disadvantaged settings. It calls for context-sensitive interventions, including community-based parenting programmes including maternal well-being, strengthening community and public support systems, improving safe play spaces, and longitudinal research. By amplifying marginalized caregivers' voices, this research highlights the need for policies that support nurturing care in low-resource settings to break intergenerational cycles of disadvantage.
城市环境中的照顾者在提供养育式照料时往往面临独特的挑战。这项定性研究探讨了印度南部班加罗尔城市贫困社区中母亲和祖母照顾孩子的复杂现实情况。基于布朗芬布伦纳的生态系统理论，这是印度城市地区第一项研究照顾者的观念以及个人和系统因素如何在此环境中塑造照料行为的研究。
对来自印度南部班加罗尔城市MAASTHI队列中4至6岁儿童的22位母亲和祖母进行了深入访谈。制定了主题指南，并进行了预测试和试点。深入访谈以当地语言（和）进行。使用NVivo 12 plus对访谈记录进行编码，并通过主题分析方法进行分析，运用布朗芬布伦纳的生态系统框架来组织主题。
在微观系统层面，照顾者通过讲故事和玩耍与孩子互动，尽管家务等相互竞争的需求常常限制了这些互动。管教方式各不相同，父亲的缺席给母亲带来了额外负担。中观系统揭示了大家庭在提供支持方面的关键作用。在外围系统层面，不安全的社区限制了孩子户外玩耍的机会。宏观系统强调宗教价值观如何为育儿提供道德框架以及对单身母亲的污名化现象。时间系统探讨了社会支持随着时间推移的下降和挑战。
这些研究结果强调，照料不平等并非孤立存在，而是在结构上根深蒂固，需要采取干预措施来解决社会文化、经济和空间方面的障碍，以实现对照顾者，尤其是处于不利环境中的照顾者的公平支持。这需要因地制宜的干预措施，包括以社区为基础的育儿项目，包括母亲的幸福、加强社区和公共支持系统、改善安全的玩耍空间以及纵向研究。通过放大边缘化照顾者的声音，这项研究凸显了在资源匮乏环境中支持养育式照料以打破代际劣势循环的政策的必要性。
