Exploring the Experiences of Family Caregivers of Older People in Residential Academic Campus of Higher Education in India
ISBN: 978-1-83982-799-0, eISBN: 978-1-83982-798-3
Publication date: 28 September 2020
Abstract
Purpose – Academic campuses in India in recent years have witnessed an increase in the proportion of older people due to the rise in the age of superannuation of faculty and their cohabitation with older parents. However, such campuses continue to have a skewed program which favor the needs of the younger population. For the present study, a residential academic campus equipped with a health care facility was selected to understand the challenges of the family caregivers of older people residing in it.
Methodology/Approach – Exploratory in-depth interviews were conducted with 154 family caregivers. Secondary data were obtained from the campus hospital records.
Findings – Data revealed that family caregivers experienced various challenges in providing older care in the campus due to unavailability of paid supportive caregivers, lack of community support, and inadequate housing. Though the academic campus has a health care facility, the entitlement rights to it varies among the older people in campus. While the campus health facility was not congenial for family caregiving, it was utilized as a space for providing long-term care. This chapter suggests the need to extend a public heath model of family caregiving in campus.
Research limitations/implications – The study has implication for modifying similar academic campuses in India for facilitating family caregivers of older people.
Originality/Value of Paper – This is the first study of its kind which explored the challenges of family caregiving for older people in academic campuses in India.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgment
We would like to thank the family caregivers who volunteered their time and shared their experiences with us. Financial support received from the Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD), Government of India, is gratefully acknowledged. This chapter is part of the series of work conducted in the microproject titled “Improving End-of-Life Care of the Elderly by Integrating Indic Perspectives on Aging and Dying” which is part of a mega project titled “Science-Heritage' Initiative (SandHI) of Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, India.”
The first author is supported by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission and MHRD, Government of India.
The first author planned and carried out the study, performed the data analysis, and took the lead in writing the chapter. The second author supervised the study and cowrote the chapter. The third author helped in data analysis and commented on the chapter.
Citation
Bhattacharyya, T., Chatterjee, S.C. and Chatterjee, D. (2020), "Exploring the Experiences of Family Caregivers of Older People in Residential Academic Campus of Higher Education in India", Kronenfeld, J.J. (Ed.) Race, Ethnicity, Gender and Other Social Characteristics as Factors in Health and Health Care Disparities (Research in the Sociology of Health Care, Vol. 38), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 183-197. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0275-495920200000038014
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020 Emerald Publishing Limited