Population Aging in Societal Context

This book offers an explanatory schema for comprehending aging in a societal context, focusing on the country of Nepal. Contributions to this book use an institutional contextual approach and a life course perspective to document and assess societal responses to the increase in the number of older adults in a specific country. This emerging age group entails the development of new and modified social institutions, new and modified cultural norms, and the reallocation of social resources within a given country. The study represents a means to understand the status and needs of older adults systematically and to orient policies and programs intended to address the increase in the older population. It can be applied to countries grappling with similar challenges of rapid population aging and significant social change. A pioneering effort in understanding aging as a social process embedded in social, economic, cultural, and life course contexts, this book fills a gap in Asian Studies, Social Policy, and Population Studies.

Mark Tausig, PhD, is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Akron, USA. For 30 years he has researched mental health and aging in Nepal, publishing numerous papers and book chapters on these topics. Janardan Subedi, PhD, is Professor in the Department of Sociology and Gerontology and a Research Fellow at the Scripps Gerontology Center, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, USA. He is also a Distinguished Professor of Community Medicine at Chitwan Medical College, Tribhuvan University, Chitwan, Nepal, and Director of the Miami Center for Nepal Studies, Miami University. Saruna Ghimire, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Gerontology and a Research Fellow at the Scripps Gerontology Center at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, USA. She focuses on health and well-being in later life, particularly the social determinants of healthy aging in diverse communities. She incorporates culturally sensitive approaches to address healthcare disparities and maintains ongoing research projects in the United States, Nepal, and Bangladesh.

Introduction 1. Introduction: Population Aging in Societal Context. An Institutional and Life Course Perspective Part I: The Global Context of Aging in Nepal 2. The Demographic Context of Aging in Nepal 3. Comparative Perspectives on Aging and the Reality of Nepal Part II: Theoretical Perspectives 4. An Institutional and Life Course Model of Aging in Nepal 5. Life Course Perspective on Aging in the Context of Nepal Part III: Socio-Cultural Context of Aging in Nepal 6. Being Old in Nepali Culture 7. The Intersections of Gender and Caste: Cumulative Dis/Advantage and Later-Life Health in Nepal 8. Aging and the Family in Contemporary Nepal Part IV: The Nepali State as Context 9. Medical Systems and Aging 10. Policies and Programs on Aging in the Political Context of Nepal 11. Aging Research in Nepal Conclusion 12. Population Aging in Societal Context: Summary of Findings