Study on the Plight of the Widowed Elderly Women Living Alone in Rural Areas of Shandong Province, China: A Case Study of L Village

Yueying Li; Zhongkai Li

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ss.20221105.21

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Study on the Plight of the Widowed Elderly Women Living Alone in Rural Areas of Shandong Province, China: A Case Study of L Village

Yueying Li, Zhongkai Li

Published in Social Sciences (Volume 11, Issue 5)

Received: 28 September 2022 Accepted: 11 October 2022 Published: 24 October 2022

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Abstract

The aging of the population in China is becoming increasingly severe. Due to the survival advantages of women, the number of widowed elderly women living alone is increasing. Taking L village in Shandong Province of China as an example, this study mainly uses the methods of questionnaire and interview to research the living conditions of the rural widowed elderly women living alone. It is found that the elderly widows living alone in rural areas are mainly in economic distress: the source of income is single and the level is low; the life plight: the elderly have poor daily self-care and rely heavily on their daughters when they are ill; Mental distress: Being widowed elderly women living alone can lead to high levels of loneliness. Medical plight: the burden of medical expenses for chronic diseases is large. The reasons for their predicament are as follows: low level of basic security, high threshold for reimbursement of medical expenses for chronic diseases, and gender awareness not yet incorporated into the mainstream of national decision-making; Community level: the absence of grassroots social organizations in rural pension; Family level: the weakening of family support function and the embarrassing situation of daughter support. Therefore, in order to improve the quality of life of the rural widowed elderly women living alone, the corresponding countermeasures and suggestions are that the country needs to assume the main responsibility of the disadvantaged groups for the elderly; Establish pension system with gender perspective; Give play to the role of rural community grassroots organizations in old-age services; Carry forward the culture of filial piety, let the intergenerational relationship between families to fit; Advocate for the elderly care of daughters.

Published in	Social Sciences (Volume 11, Issue 5)
DOI	10.11648/j.ss.20221105.21
Page(s)	338-342
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

China, Rural, Widowed Elderly Women, Living Alone, Plight

References

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APA Style

Yueying Li, Zhongkai Li. (2022). Study on the Plight of the Widowed Elderly Women Living Alone in Rural Areas of Shandong Province, China: A Case Study of L Village. Social Sciences, 11(5), 338-342. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20221105.21

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ACS Style

Yueying Li; Zhongkai Li. Study on the Plight of the Widowed Elderly Women Living Alone in Rural Areas of Shandong Province, China: A Case Study of L Village. Soc. Sci. 2022, 11(5), 338-342. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20221105.21

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AMA Style

Yueying Li, Zhongkai Li. Study on the Plight of the Widowed Elderly Women Living Alone in Rural Areas of Shandong Province, China: A Case Study of L Village. Soc Sci. 2022;11(5):338-342. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20221105.21

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@article{10.11648/j.ss.20221105.21,
  author = {Yueying Li and Zhongkai Li},
  title = {Study on the Plight of the Widowed Elderly Women Living Alone in Rural Areas of Shandong Province, China: A Case Study of L Village},
  journal = {Social Sciences},
  volume = {11},
  number = {5},
  pages = {338-342},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ss.20221105.21},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20221105.21},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ss.20221105.21},
  abstract = {The aging of the population in China is becoming increasingly severe. Due to the survival advantages of women, the number of widowed elderly women living alone is increasing. Taking L village in Shandong Province of China as an example, this study mainly uses the methods of questionnaire and interview to research the living conditions of the rural widowed elderly women living alone. It is found that the elderly widows living alone in rural areas are mainly in economic distress: the source of income is single and the level is low; the life plight: the elderly have poor daily self-care and rely heavily on their daughters when they are ill; Mental distress: Being widowed elderly women living alone can lead to high levels of loneliness. Medical plight: the burden of medical expenses for chronic diseases is large. The reasons for their predicament are as follows: low level of basic security, high threshold for reimbursement of medical expenses for chronic diseases, and gender awareness not yet incorporated into the mainstream of national decision-making; Community level: the absence of grassroots social organizations in rural pension; Family level: the weakening of family support function and the embarrassing situation of daughter support. Therefore, in order to improve the quality of life of the rural widowed elderly women living alone, the corresponding countermeasures and suggestions are that the country needs to assume the main responsibility of the disadvantaged groups for the elderly; Establish pension system with gender perspective; Give play to the role of rural community grassroots organizations in old-age services; Carry forward the culture of filial piety, let the intergenerational relationship between families to fit; Advocate for the elderly care of daughters.},
 year = {2022}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Study on the Plight of the Widowed Elderly Women Living Alone in Rural Areas of Shandong Province, China: A Case Study of L Village
AU  - Yueying Li
AU  - Zhongkai Li
Y1  - 2022/10/24
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20221105.21
DO  - 10.11648/j.ss.20221105.21
T2  - Social Sciences
JF  - Social Sciences
JO  - Social Sciences
SP  - 338
EP  - 342
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2326-988X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20221105.21
AB  - The aging of the population in China is becoming increasingly severe. Due to the survival advantages of women, the number of widowed elderly women living alone is increasing. Taking L village in Shandong Province of China as an example, this study mainly uses the methods of questionnaire and interview to research the living conditions of the rural widowed elderly women living alone. It is found that the elderly widows living alone in rural areas are mainly in economic distress: the source of income is single and the level is low; the life plight: the elderly have poor daily self-care and rely heavily on their daughters when they are ill; Mental distress: Being widowed elderly women living alone can lead to high levels of loneliness. Medical plight: the burden of medical expenses for chronic diseases is large. The reasons for their predicament are as follows: low level of basic security, high threshold for reimbursement of medical expenses for chronic diseases, and gender awareness not yet incorporated into the mainstream of national decision-making; Community level: the absence of grassroots social organizations in rural pension; Family level: the weakening of family support function and the embarrassing situation of daughter support. Therefore, in order to improve the quality of life of the rural widowed elderly women living alone, the corresponding countermeasures and suggestions are that the country needs to assume the main responsibility of the disadvantaged groups for the elderly; Establish pension system with gender perspective; Give play to the role of rural community grassroots organizations in old-age services; Carry forward the culture of filial piety, let the intergenerational relationship between families to fit; Advocate for the elderly care of daughters.
VL  - 11
IS  - 5
ER  -

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Author Information

Yueying Li

Marxism Institute, Taishan, University, Tai’an, China
Zhongkai Li

Department of Midwifery, Taishan Vocational College of Nuring, Tai’an, China

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APA Style

Yueying Li, Zhongkai Li. (2022). Study on the Plight of the Widowed Elderly Women Living Alone in Rural Areas of Shandong Province, China: A Case Study of L Village. Social Sciences, 11(5), 338-342. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20221105.21

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ACS Style

Yueying Li; Zhongkai Li. Study on the Plight of the Widowed Elderly Women Living Alone in Rural Areas of Shandong Province, China: A Case Study of L Village. Soc. Sci. 2022, 11(5), 338-342. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20221105.21

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AMA Style

Yueying Li, Zhongkai Li. Study on the Plight of the Widowed Elderly Women Living Alone in Rural Areas of Shandong Province, China: A Case Study of L Village. Soc Sci. 2022;11(5):338-342. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20221105.21

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@article{10.11648/j.ss.20221105.21,
  author = {Yueying Li and Zhongkai Li},
  title = {Study on the Plight of the Widowed Elderly Women Living Alone in Rural Areas of Shandong Province, China: A Case Study of L Village},
  journal = {Social Sciences},
  volume = {11},
  number = {5},
  pages = {338-342},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ss.20221105.21},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20221105.21},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ss.20221105.21},
  abstract = {The aging of the population in China is becoming increasingly severe. Due to the survival advantages of women, the number of widowed elderly women living alone is increasing. Taking L village in Shandong Province of China as an example, this study mainly uses the methods of questionnaire and interview to research the living conditions of the rural widowed elderly women living alone. It is found that the elderly widows living alone in rural areas are mainly in economic distress: the source of income is single and the level is low; the life plight: the elderly have poor daily self-care and rely heavily on their daughters when they are ill; Mental distress: Being widowed elderly women living alone can lead to high levels of loneliness. Medical plight: the burden of medical expenses for chronic diseases is large. The reasons for their predicament are as follows: low level of basic security, high threshold for reimbursement of medical expenses for chronic diseases, and gender awareness not yet incorporated into the mainstream of national decision-making; Community level: the absence of grassroots social organizations in rural pension; Family level: the weakening of family support function and the embarrassing situation of daughter support. Therefore, in order to improve the quality of life of the rural widowed elderly women living alone, the corresponding countermeasures and suggestions are that the country needs to assume the main responsibility of the disadvantaged groups for the elderly; Establish pension system with gender perspective; Give play to the role of rural community grassroots organizations in old-age services; Carry forward the culture of filial piety, let the intergenerational relationship between families to fit; Advocate for the elderly care of daughters.},
 year = {2022}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Study on the Plight of the Widowed Elderly Women Living Alone in Rural Areas of Shandong Province, China: A Case Study of L Village
AU  - Yueying Li
AU  - Zhongkai Li
Y1  - 2022/10/24
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20221105.21
DO  - 10.11648/j.ss.20221105.21
T2  - Social Sciences
JF  - Social Sciences
JO  - Social Sciences
SP  - 338
EP  - 342
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2326-988X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20221105.21
AB  - The aging of the population in China is becoming increasingly severe. Due to the survival advantages of women, the number of widowed elderly women living alone is increasing. Taking L village in Shandong Province of China as an example, this study mainly uses the methods of questionnaire and interview to research the living conditions of the rural widowed elderly women living alone. It is found that the elderly widows living alone in rural areas are mainly in economic distress: the source of income is single and the level is low; the life plight: the elderly have poor daily self-care and rely heavily on their daughters when they are ill; Mental distress: Being widowed elderly women living alone can lead to high levels of loneliness. Medical plight: the burden of medical expenses for chronic diseases is large. The reasons for their predicament are as follows: low level of basic security, high threshold for reimbursement of medical expenses for chronic diseases, and gender awareness not yet incorporated into the mainstream of national decision-making; Community level: the absence of grassroots social organizations in rural pension; Family level: the weakening of family support function and the embarrassing situation of daughter support. Therefore, in order to improve the quality of life of the rural widowed elderly women living alone, the corresponding countermeasures and suggestions are that the country needs to assume the main responsibility of the disadvantaged groups for the elderly; Establish pension system with gender perspective; Give play to the role of rural community grassroots organizations in old-age services; Carry forward the culture of filial piety, let the intergenerational relationship between families to fit; Advocate for the elderly care of daughters.
VL  - 11
IS  - 5
ER  -

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