• Interdisciplinary social scientists gathered at SMU to share empirical findings from Asean, China, South Korea and Japan on wellbeing of older persons
• SMU public forum organised by its School of Social Sciences and supported by Shirin Fozdar Programme casts more light on tackling current and future ageing population issues
• Old-age support in the region present socio-economic challenges and opportunities and require society to work together

With ageing populations becoming increasingly prevalent, the wellbeing of older persons are emerging as major challenges for much of Asia. In a public forum organised by the School of Social Sciences (SoSS) and supported by the Shirin Fozdar Programme (SFP) at the Singapore Management University (SMU), interdisciplinary social scientists shared empirical findings from Asean, China, South Korea and Japan (Asean+3), and cast more light on challenges and opportunities in family care for older persons in this region.

The presentation and discussions on research and policy implications held at SoSS on 17 April 2017 drew an audience of 50 comprising stakeholders in the social and healthcare services sector, from enterprises, government-related organisations, and academia.

In her welcome remarks, Ms Claire Chiang, SFP Chairperson and Co-founder of Banyan Tree Holdings, thanked SoSS for the partnership with SFP in addressing a pertinent issue in society. Building knowledge and equity to help the aged aligns with SFP’s ethos on building resilient communities – beyond advocating for the empowerment of women, SFP also champions issues for holistic growth for the community.

[Photo: SFP Chairperson Ms Chiang delivering her welcome remarks.]

Ms Chiang also thanked inaugural Shirin Fozdar (SF) Fellows Associate Professor of Sociology Bussarawan (Puk) Teerawichitchainan, who is also Associate Dean (Research & Programme Development) at SMU SoSS, and Assistant Professor of Economics Christine Ho from SMU’s School of Economics (SoE), for their critical contribution to the forum. Both SF Fellows from the university have been working on generating research that makes a difference to society, in areas such as policies, care-giving, education, social sciences and the economy.

At the forum, Associate Prof Teerawichitchainan and Assistant Prof Ho touched on their respective research focus areas related to the silver generation – family care for older persons in Asia, and gender-based parental investments and old-age support.

A total of seven academics shared insights and discussed empirical assessments of situations of older persons in the family context in Asia – the support they receive, the roles of the family, society, government and various stakeholders in the community. They also highlighted challenges that the older population and their family grapple with in providing family care to the elderly in a sustainable way.

In the face of demographic and socio-economic changes confronting every country, the presentations delved into various areas offering deeper understanding in more dimensions. 

[Photo: Associate Professor Bussarawan (Puk) Teerawichitchainan, Associate Dean (Research & Programme Development) of SMU SoSS and SF Fellow, painted a picture of recent and projected demographic trends in Asean+3 countries.]

Associate Prof Teerawichitchainan kicked off with recent and projected demographic trends, and how these affect family care for seniors in the Asean+3 countries. She highlighted the decline in family size, migration’s effects on family dispersion and living arrangements, and not just population ageing. Citing areas of concern, such as personal care and social support requiring physical presence and interaction, she noted these are on the decline with the social and family patterns now. There are also bigger burdens, with longer live expectancies that are not necessarily in better health, coupled with lower income of the aged in Asean except in Singapore, vis-à-vis those in Japan and Korea.

Singapore’s Dr Bina Gubhaju, Senior Research Fellow from the Centre for Ageing Research & Education, National University of Singapore, touched on the impacts of living arrangements and the wellbeing of older Singaporeans. With today’s patterns, intergenerational co-residence may not guarantee the wellbeing of older persons; measures to engage older people living with their families in broader social activities are important.

Seoul National University Department of Social Welfare’s Associate Professor Jung-Hwa Ha addressed challenges facing older couples affected by dementia in South Korea. Her presentation featured effective intervention programmes by communities and the government to cope with challenges of caring for elders with cognitive impairment.

For Myanmar, the University of Michigan Population Studies Centre’s Professor Emeritus of Sociology John Knodel focused on long-term care needs in the context of poverty and population ageing. He highlighted how families in resource-poor Myanmar deal with caring for older persons, in the face of poor health, shorter life expectancy, and more prevalent physical disabilities in Myanmar among the elderly in Asean. He also talked about community-based solutions such as the Older Persons Self-Help Groups.

[Photo: Assistant Professor of Economics Christine Ho, SMU’s SoE and SF Fellow, shared her empirical findings on gender-based parental investments and old-age support in China.]

Turning to China, Assistant Prof Ho’s presentation on gender-based parental investments and old-age support revealed interestingly that daughters may be a viable source of support to parents despite deeply-rooted cultural preferences for sons. Encouraging parental investments in daughters may lead to an increase in family provision of old-age support.

Changing patterns of elderly care in Japan and other East and Southeast Asian societies was Kyoto University Graduate School of Letters’ Professor of Sociology Emiko Ochiai’s focal point. She compared changing patterns of elderly care, particularly the balance among four sectors – the state, market, family and relatives, and communities – which determines the types of welfare. The strategy of Asian familialism, which relies heavily on family and relatives, is a myth even in the past and will not be sustainable in the face of current population ageing trends. Early and decisive policies on socialisation and marketisation of care are needed.

[Photo (left to right): Professor Emeritus of Sociology John Knodel from the University of Michigan focused on Myanmar, while Professor of Sociology Emiko Ochiai from Kyoto University focused on Japan’s changing patterns of elderly care.]

The Q&A session, moderated by Professor of Sociology Feinian Chen from University of Maryland’s Department of Sociology and Maryland Population Research Centre, summed up some key take-aways. Co-residence is inadequate for old-age wellbeing. Cognitive decline is challenging but addressable. A community-based approach is challenging but addressable. Invest in daughters as they provide critical old-age care. Socialisation and marketisation of care are important.

[Photo: Dr Jennifer Lee, Chairman of Singapore’s Agency for Integrated Care, was invited to share her experiences and views with participants.]

Several notable participants were invited to share their experiences and voice their thoughts. While agreeing that a fast-ageing Singapore population poses several challenges, Dr Jennifer Lee, Chairman of Singapore’s Agency for Integrated Care, pointed out that there is a silver lining. Although there is a long road to growth for long-term care, there are several good opportunities related to Singapore’s unique advantages such as its high density and urban advancements. Singaporean entrepreneur Janice Chia, who started both Ageing Asia and ASPIRE55 – Asia’s first virtual retirement village – illustrated innovations in products and services for the aged to enable dignified ageing, while reiterating that the social challenges of ageing can be transformed into economic opportunities.

Concluding that “demography is our destiny”, Professor Chen said to the researchers and audience that we can make society come together to make this work.

SFP’s mission is to continue to serve as a platform to connect students, advocates, policy-makers, businesses, institutions and the public to shape a resilient community and nurture integrated perspectives in women’s development.

SMU hopes that such initiatives increase understanding of social and human behaviour, through generating and collaborating on high-impact, multi-disciplinary research that addresses Asian issues of global relevance.

[Featured photo: SFP Chairperson Ms Chiang, Shirin Fozdar’s son Mr Jimmy Fozdar (both in centre) and his family, friends and supporters with the multi-disciplinary researchers who presented at the forum.]