Sending parents to nursing homes is unfilial? An exploratory study on institutional elder care in China

Abstract

Due to an increasing aged population and small-scale families, China is paying more and more attention to institutional elder care. However, the viewpoint of ‘sending parents to nursing homes is unfilial’ is still influential. This article makes a preliminary analysis on institutional elder care and filial piety issues based on deep interview data with elders in nursing homes and their adult children. It finds that institutional elder care has changed the understanding of the elder residents and their adult children concerning filial piety.