Case Study on Informal Care for Rural Elderly by Neighbors in Korea
2008
Yoon, S.D. (Rural Resources Development Institute, NIAST, RDA, Suwon, Republic of Korea), E-mail: ysd@rda.go.kr | Chae, H.S. (Rural Resources Development Institute, NIAST, RDA, Suwon, Republic of Korea)
Previous research on elderly care in rural areas has focused on inter-generational support, ignoring the possibility of elderly care among community members in the rural areas of Korea. This study attempts to explore the roles and potentials of community-based elderly care in rural areas where nearby family or formal services are unavailable. For this purpose, data was collected from the elderly in three Korean rural villages using qualitative case study methods. Each village was studied as a separate case study and in-depth interviews with the elderly in each village were conducted. All interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim for the analysis. The data was analyzed using the Reflective Qualitative Analytic Technique. Results showed that rural elderly in all three villages had lunch, talked, and played together; almost everyday in the winter. However, the nature of care among rural elderly varied depending on the characteristics of the rural community (the traditional rural, the rural mixed with the urban, and the neighboring rural with the urban). Specifically, the use of mutual aids (providing food, repairing housing, and checking personal safety by telephone or visit, etc.) was most consistent at the traditional rural village. Because both the rural village mixed with the urban and the neighboring rural village with urban have better access to many aids and programs from formal institutions, mutual aids among community members decreased compared with the traditional rural village. However, regular group activities such as sports, dancing or debate help to provide pleasure and integrate the community. These results suggest that community relationships as a substitution for social support provide by family or formal services can be utilized in rural areas.
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