Non-Western perspectives on aging and place

Abstract

The English-language literature on aging and place is dominated both theoretically and empirically by research from high-income countries, mainly but not exclusively Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. As one might expect, the main findings reflect the experiences of older people, structural factors (e.g., public policies on pensions), and the relative advantages that older people have living in high-income countries. Missing in the literature on aging and place is an understanding that aging in place in middle- and low-income countries comes from a diverse set of experiences of older people that are different from those experienced in high-income countries; that the structural factors differ (e.g., lack of or limited national pension plans, minimal health care infrastructure and public health insurance); and that relative and absolute disadvantages older people face in middle-and low-income countries result in a set of challenges that are very different than those of older people in high-income countries. The goals of this chapter are to highlight the research on aging in middle- and low-income countries and how the literature reflects the complex interconnections between place and aging. We also highlight the unique challenges that older adults in middle- and low-income countries face and how they differ from high-income countries.