老龄人口的精神赡养问题

随着社会的变迁,精神赡养成为一个相对独立于物质供养而日趋重要的问题。精神赡养同时满足了年轻人的道德需求和老年人的养老需求。对“精神赡养”范畴的把握应从人格尊重、成就安心和情感慰藉三个维度来展开,换言之,全方位的精神赡养必须同时满足老年人的自尊需求、期待需求和亲情需求。从传统孝道到精神赡养的演变路径是:从“老人本位”到“代际平等”,从“单一满足情感需求”到“兼顾激发生命潜能”。积极的精神赡养包含了晚辈精神上的自足和祖辈精神上的自强。     

Health Care of American Indian Elderly: Determinants of the Perceived Difficulty Obtaining Access to Health Care

This study examines the perceived areas of difficulty in obtaining access to health care and the factors influencing that difficulty among elderly American Indians in a rural environment. One hundred thirty-seven elderly Indians in the Ponca and Pawnee tribes of Oklahoma were interviewed. Four major difficulties are reported: a long waiting period at Indian health centers, difficulty in making appointments to see physicians, language and cultural barriers to communication with the health care providers, and lack of available transportation. The long waiting period is the most serious problem, and lack of transportation is the least serious. The results of probit analysis show that physical health, automobile ownership, education, employment, and the presence of an informal caregiver are related to difficulty obtaining access to health care. Ways to minimize this difficulty are discussed.     

Trade unions and the elderly population: is retirement still linked to the sphere of work?

Although trade unions focus on the labor force, they are important for the retirees as well. In Germany there are three main reasons for this importance. 1) Quite unintentionally, the unions - with 1.7 million retired members - have become one of the largest old-age organizations, 2) In a corporatist work and welfare regime such as Germany, the unions are one of the key actors not only in labor market policy but also in social policy, including the generational contract of old-age security. 3) The unions potentially link the retirees to the sphere of work, and thus to the concerns and conflicts of the work society. In an aging society, the saliency of such a link between work and retirement is increasing. On the one hand, with their active membership decreasing, unions are compelled to turn also to those who have retired from work to maintain their organizational strength. On the other hand, the retirees have a greater interest in union activity. By calling for a larger share in union affairs, they present the unions with an organizational dilemma. This article discusses the practice and potential of the link between unions and their older members from both perspectives: from that of the unions and their interest in the retirees and from that of the retirees and their interest in maintaining membership. Our empirical basis is a multi-level study of unions and old-age politics in Germany, including some steps towards comparison with other European countries. The study focuses on the German Metal Workers' Union - with its 3 million members the biggest single trade union not only in Germany but in all the Western world. After introducing our approach, we follow the three points outlined above. We begin by examining the evolution of the membership share of retirees in the unions. Secondly, we discuss the role of the unions in the corporatist system, especially with respect to policies concerning the elderly population. The third point, the link between retirement and the work sphere, is treated by first looking at the organizational supply of union activities for the elderly population, and then at the demand by elderly members. Finally, we briefly address the possible directions for the future, especially with regard to models of organizational representation.     

From reforms to rationing? Current allocative trends in social services in Sweden

In Sweden, the current national deficit is putting immense pressure on all government spending. Economic recession and increased levels of unemployment have jointly altered the image of the welfare state and redirected focus on it as a financial burden. A matter of considerable political and public concern is the consequences of the economic constraints on social services - the part of the welfare programs carried out by local authorities. This article raises concerns of resource allocation, starting from an outline of the impact of economic developments on different sectors of the social services. Expenditure for elderly care, child care and individual and family care is analyzed in the light of demographic changes and coverage rates. A main focus is put on the most recent development and the perceivable strategies for managing the financial cut-backs are discussed in detail. Two strategies stand out as central. One is dilution, which is granting help to an unchanged number or proportion of people granted help, combined with a decreased level or altered quality of the service provided. The other is focusing, where eligibility is defined more narrowly and in the normal case results in a consistent or even improved level of service to the most needy. Dilution seems to be the major strategy for child care and focusing the allocative trend in services for elderly people.     

Social Policies for the Elderly in the Republic of Korea and Japan: A Comparative Perspective*

The Republic of Korea (South Korea) and Japan are highly industrialized and modern nations which are both influenced by the Confucian tradition of respect for the elderly and family responsibility for the care of aging parents. In both countries the proportion of the elderly population is increasing. Japan, since the end of World War II, has utilized its government bureaucracy to help develop the social welfare system and to formulate social policies and programs for the elderly. Japan's tradition of samurai Confucianism is congruent with the commitment of the Japanese government to such social development as a matter of national policy. The Republic of Korea has not assigned a comprehensive planning role to its government bureaucracy. Lacking the mix of industrial/post-industrial infrastructure of Japan and not yet faced with the immediacy of a very large elderly population, the Republic of Korea's government has developed its social policies for the elderly in a more incremental manner, usually emphasizing small scale and piecemeal initiatives. With respect to social support, it has emphasized voluntary family efforts as congruent with the Korean (and Chinese) variant of Confucianism. This paper will compare and contrast these different approaches.     

农村人口外流与农村养老困境

以外出务工农民家庭中60岁以上老年人为研究对象,通过深度访谈调查了121位农村老人,总结了农村人口向城市流动的不同模式下,农村老人所面临的不同养老问题。在农民个体向城市流动的模式下,农村老人养老问题主要以情感关怀不足的为主;在家庭化流动模式下,留守老人承担家庭看护、孙辈照料与家务劳动等任务,存在严重的身体与心理负担,面临严重的生活照料缺失问题。而对子女的牺牲精神则遮蔽了留守老人养老需求;在举家迁移模式中,随迁老人主要以居家养老为主,但异地养老存在严重的城市参与不足和乡村依恋问题,随迁老人生活满意度不高,容易产生消极情绪。针对不同流动模式下农村老人养老面临的不同问题和需求,需采取类别化、有针对性的应对措施。     

1992~2002年中国老年人生活自理能力变化研究

基于1992年中国老年人供养体系调查和2002年中国老年人健康长寿第三期调查,本文对中国老年人1992~2002年生活自理能力的变化进行了探讨。结果显示1992~2002年十年间中国老年人生活自理能力失能率平均年下降l%。其平均年下降率具有如下特点:高龄老人高于中低龄老人;城镇老人高于农村老人;男性老人高于女性老人;非文盲老人高于文盲老人;有配偶老人高于无配偶老人。     

论女儿养老与隔代养老的可能性——来自武汉市的调查

在城市家庭养老的研究中 ,有人提出了女儿养老与隔代养老的问题。本文从探寻孙辈与祖辈的相互理解程度、孙辈的养老责任感来研究隔代养老在多大程度上是可能的 ,并从女性与男性在理解父母的养老需求、他们的养老责任感等方面来探讨女性在养老意识方面的特点 ,由此提出对女性养老的看法。     

从"依赖养老"到"独立养老"--独生子女家庭养老观念的重要转变

当代独生子女家庭养老面临着严重的现实困境,主要原因是现实社会已失去了传统中国家庭养老模式的客观基础。在这种情况下,独生子女父母老年保障中一项重要的任务就是转变老年人对子女赡养的依靠与期望的传统观念, 全社会在提倡尊老、爱老、养老的同时,还要开展对独生子女父母的教育和宣传,让他们从观念上变“依赖养老”为“独立养老”,变“依靠子女”为“依靠自己”。     

Difficult decisions on care and services for elderly people: the dilemma of setting priorities in the welfare state

The aging of the population combined with restricted economic resources is leading to an increasing gap between care needs and care resources. The first strategy to cope with this growing disparity is often the rather non-controversial attempt to optimize the use of the resources. At some point in time, however, more crucial decisions are needed. Four levels of decision-making in the system of care services may be identified - from decisions regarding national resource allocation to decisions regarding individual users. The different conditions for making decisions and setting priorities at each level must be considered when studying the decision-making process and the consequences - including the repercussions for other levels and sectors. With Sweden as a case, four trends in decision-making can be seen: decentralization of many controversial decisions; redefining of the lines of responsibility between sectors; increasing inequality in the accessibility, cost, and quality of care; and a general lack of public discussion and debate about central welfare issues.