Earning their keep: the productivity of older women and men in rural Bangladesh

Perceptions of Successful Aging among Older Adults in Bangladesh: An Exploratory Study

To analyze older adults' definitions of successful aging in Bangladesh. The purposively selected study sample comprised twelve participants who were aged over 60. Interviews using in-depth semi-structured questionnaires were conducted based on participants' chosen mode, either face-to-face, or by phone. Findings of this study support that successful aging is multidimensional - that is - for Bangladeshis successful aging encompasses dimensions such as adaptation to an aging body, financial security, family and intergenerational care, and social participation. Older adults' emphases on all these dimensions were qualitatively different from those relevant in western societies. Bangladeshis see disease and disability as a normal part of aging and do not emphasize freedom from disease or longevity as much as North Americans and the US-focused successful aging discourses do. Family care is a key component of successful aging in Bangladesh. While in western models functional independence has been emphasized, for Bangladeshi older adults' adaptations to changing body, co-residing with children, being financially, physically, and emotionally dependent on family and receiving their care are viewed as normal and appropriate. Cross-cultural comparisons in this study suggest that what it means and entails to age well differ across cultures. This study highlights the need among health professionals to understand Bangladeshi culture, with its specific beliefs and values, as it relates to the views of aging well.

Cross-cultural understandings of festival food-related activities for older women in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Eastern Kentucky, USA and Auckland, New Zealand

This cross-country, cross-cultural study explored the meaning of older women's food-related activities for the annual festivals of Songkran (Thai New Year) in Chiang Mai, Thailand; and Christmas in Richmond, Kentucky, USA; and Auckland, New Zealand. A derived etic method was used. The community-dwelling participants were 33 Thai women, aged 60 and older, and 16 New Zealand and 23 eastern Kentucky women, aged 65 and older. This article focuses on the final cross-cultural analysis of the data. Emic, or within-country, findings are presented, followed by the derived etic, or cross-cultural, interpretations for two themes of meaning; older women's 'protecting what matters' and 'leading the way'. Applying derived etic methods helped reveal how, despite the highly different food-related practices, preparing and sharing celebratory foods at Songkran or Christmas held related meanings for older women in Thailand, Kentucky USA, and New Zealand.