Family, Elder Care and Caregivers in India

Filial piety, a traditional virtue espoused by religion and culture in India, places the responsibility of support and care for the elderly on the family. In addition to cultural values, lack of affordable formal and institutional care, and limited state support for the elderly means that the elderly have to rely on family support. The importance of the family is further underscored by recent legislation, Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, which provides redress for the elderly to seek maintenance from children and other family members.

This paper examines elder care from the viewpoint of the caregivers in the context of India where legal, social, cultural and economic values emphasize the role of family in elder care. While there is research on the situation of the elderly in India, literature on the type and magnitude of care provided by the family and the impact of such care on the well-being of the caregivers is very limited. Using data from the WHO Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE) survey conducted in 2007, which interviewed about 11000 respondents in six states in India and has a section on impact of caregiving, I’ll examine following key questions. First, I’ll examine the characteristics of the caregivers (age, gender and relationship to the care receiver), and the type of care provided (physical, emotional, financial and health care) by them. Second, the analysis will examine the subjective and objective well-being, and quality of life of the caregivers. Especially the analysis will investigate the role of gender, education and relationship of the caregiver and receiver on the well-being of the caregivers. The findings will be situated within the broader family, social and cultural context of India.