Who will take care of me? Aging and care in Northeast Connecticut

• In Event: 30860 - Section on Aging and the Life Course Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 2. Aging, Caregiving, and Family Dynamics

Abstract

People today spend more of their lives caring for elderly parents or ill spouses than ever before, due to longer lifespans, advancements in medical technology, and an increasing number of disabled adults (Abel 2022). As the population ages, people find themselves in competing care needs, which necessitates a new focus on the experiences of aging and care. Most academic and policy discussions of the complexities of caregiving focus on the challenges this creates for the “sandwich generation,” caregivers who balance employment with care for children and aging parents (Lei 2023). Yet 34% of older adults also care for others, including spouses, grandchildren, and parents (AARP 2015). We know little about the adversities older adults encounter when they are expected to care for one another alongside their own aging needs, especially since the care work undertaken by older people remains largely invisible as they often are no longer in the paid workforce. This academic oversight combined with the increase in the population of older adults and caregivers necessitates a new focus on the intersections of age and care. In this paper, I ask the following research question: How do older adults imagine, experience and navigate aging and care in the context of declining social mobility in Northeast Connecticut?

Author

• Asmita Aasaavari, University of Connecticut