This book brings together state-of-the-art research on successful aging in Asian populations and highlights how the factors that contribute to successful aging differ from those in the West. It examines the differences between the Asian and Western contexts in which the aging process unfolds, including cultural values, lifestyles, physical environments and family structures. In addition, it examines the question of how to add quality to longer years of life. Specifically, it looks at ways to promote health, preserve cognition, maximize functioning with social support and maintain emotional well-being despite inevitable declines and losses. Compared to other parts of the world, Asia will age more quickly as a result of the rapid socioeconomic developments leading to rising longevity and historically low fertility rates in some countries. These demographic forces in vast populations such as China are expected to make Asia the main driver of global aging in the coming decades. As a result, researchers, professionals, policymakers, as well as the commercial sector, in both East and West, are increasingly interested in gaining a deeper understanding of aging in Asia.

According to a recent population report by the United Nations, "in most countries, older women greatly outnumber older men. In many cases, the difference is so large that the concerns of the older population should in fact be viewed primarily as the concerns of older women." Internationally, the concerns of older women emanate from the unique gendered challenges they experience because they are more likely to be widowed, poor, have lower educational attainment, fewer skills, restricted inheritance and land ownership, and have fewer sexual rights. To add to this negative scenario, ageist and sexist attitudes in both developed and developing societies throughout the world tend to categorize older women as non-contributing burdens even though they are in fact often highly productive and bear most of the burdens of family caregiving responsibilities. In spite of their majority status and list of concerns, older women are less likely to be equally represented in the literature on aging. This edited book introduces the reader to the diversity, challenges and contributions of older women in several of the major regions of the world. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Social Work.

Who pays for long-term care? Discover the unique approaches of seven countries around the Pacific Rim!Long-Term Care in the Twenty-First Century discusses policies and programs for long-term care in seven countries around the Asia-Pacific Rim: the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Each country is covered in two chapters, one to examine the philosophy and values that underlie its approaches to long-term care, the second to discuss its systems of service delivery. These thoughtful analyses, backed up with facts and figures, explain program successes and failures in the context of demographic and social trends and with reference to the differing political systems across the region. Its breadth of perspective and insightful examination of cultural differences make Long-Term Care in the Twenty-First Century an important contribution to the international comparative study of aging. The programs in the United States, Australia, and Canada offer a fascinating contrast with the longer-established and very different programs in the Asian countries, including Japan, the world's oldest country.Long-Term Care in the Twenty-First Century provides practical information on essential gerontological issues for each country, including: financing arrangements development of client classification systems case management in both residential and community-based systems key source documents, references, and Web sites political and cultural influences home-based and family caregivingThis valuable book provides a critical record of developments in the current transition period. This multicultural perspective contributes a chance for all countries to learn from the experience of others in dealing with a problem that is increasingly important as the world population ages. Long-Term Care in the Twenty-First Century is an essential resource for scholars, service providers, policymakers, and anyone concerned with care of the aged, not only in Pacific Rim countries but around the world.

The rapid trend of globalization has brought with it a variety of sustainability challenges, including global climate change, biodiversity loss, poverty, and social inequalities, which are problems with unclear boundaries, complicated interrelated components, undefined parameters, contradictory values, and no single solution. Social work has a long-standing tradition of emphasizing the interaction of people and their environment. For this reason, the field of social work is one of the best-placed academic disciplines for studying the impact of environmental change on social systems, and should play an important role in developing strategies for mitigating and adapting to these environmental challenges. However, traditional social work tends to lack sustaining work and neglect globally interconnected social problems. Combining case studies and country reports from around Asia with a theoretical framework for understanding sustainability concerns, this book aims to show how social work can play a valuable role in mitigating and adapting to environmental challenges and social sustainability. For social work to develop a meaningful and viable profession that addresses contemporary sustainability issues, it requires changes and transformation in paradigm, theories, strategies, social policy and social services that will facilitate a sustainable future for all mankind.

The rapid trend of globalization has brought with it a variety of sustainability challenges, including global climate change, biodiversity loss, poverty, and social inequalities, which are problems with unclear boundaries, complicated interrelated components, undefined parameters, contradictory values, and no single solution. Social work has a long-standing tradition of emphasizing the interaction of people and their environment. For this reason, the field of social work is one of the best-placed academic disciplines for studying the impact of environmental change on social systems, and should play an important role in developing strategies for mitigating and adapting to these environmental challenges. However, traditional social work tends to lack sustaining work and neglect globally interconnected social problems. Combining case studies and country reports from around Asia with a theoretical framework for understanding sustainability concerns, this book aims to show how social work can play a valuable role in mitigating and adapting to environmental challenges and social sustainability. For social work to develop a meaningful and viable profession that addresses contemporary sustainability issues, it requires changes and transformation in paradigm, theories, strategies, social policy and social services that will facilitate a sustainable future for all mankind.

According to a recent population report by the United Nations, "in most countries, older women greatly outnumber older men. In many cases, the difference is so large that the concerns of the older population should in fact be viewed primarily as the concerns of older women." Internationally, the concerns of older women emanate from the unique gendered challenges they experience because they are more likely to be widowed, poor, have lower educational attainment, fewer skills, restricted inheritance and land ownership, and have fewer sexual rights. To add to this negative scenario, ageist and sexist attitudes in both developed and developing societies throughout the world tend to categorize older women as non-contributing burdens even though they are in fact often highly productive and bear most of the burdens of family caregiving responsibilities. In spite of their majority status and list of concerns, older women are less likely to be equally represented in the literature on aging. This edited book introduces the reader to the diversity, challenges and contributions of older women in several of the major regions of the world. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Social Work.

Who pays for long-term care? Discover the unique approaches of seven countries around the Pacific Rim!Long-Term Care in the Twenty-First Century discusses policies and programs for long-term care in seven countries around the Asia-Pacific Rim: the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Each country is covered in two chapters, one to examine the philosophy and values that underlie its approaches to long-term care, the second to discuss its systems of service delivery. These thoughtful analyses, backed up with facts and figures, explain program successes and failures in the context of demographic and social trends and with reference to the differing political systems across the region. Its breadth of perspective and insightful examination of cultural differences make Long-Term Care in the Twenty-First Century an important contribution to the international comparative study of aging. The programs in the United States, Australia, and Canada offer a fascinating contrast with the longer-established and very different programs in the Asian countries, including Japan, the world's oldest country.Long-Term Care in the Twenty-First Century provides practical information on essential gerontological issues for each country, including: financing arrangements development of client classification systems case management in both residential and community-based systems key source documents, references, and Web sites political and cultural influences home-based and family caregivingThis valuable book provides a critical record of developments in the current transition period. This multicultural perspective contributes a chance for all countries to learn from the experience of others in dealing with a problem that is increasingly important as the world population ages. Long-Term Care in the Twenty-First Century is an essential resource for scholars, service providers, policymakers, and anyone concerned with care of the aged, not only in Pacific Rim countries but around the world.

This book brings together state-of-the-art research on successful aging in Asian populations and highlights how the factors that contribute to successful aging differ from those in the West. It examines the differences between the Asian and Western contexts in which the aging process unfolds, including cultural values, lifestyles, physical environments and family structures. In addition, it examines the question of how to add quality to longer years of life. Specifically, it looks at ways to promote health, preserve cognition, maximize functioning with social support and maintain emotional well-being despite inevitable declines and losses. Compared to other parts of the world, Asia will age more quickly as a result of the rapid socioeconomic developments leading to rising longevity and historically low fertility rates in some countries. These demographic forces in vast populations such as China are expected to make Asia the main driver of global aging in the coming decades. As a result, researchers, professionals, policymakers, as well as the commercial sector, in both East and West, are increasingly interested in gaining a deeper understanding of aging in Asia.