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The Role of Caregiving for Older Family Members in Communities
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The Role of Caregiving for Older Family Members in Communities

A Special Issue of Social Sciences (ISSN 2076-0760) belonging to the section "Family Studies".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2026) | Viewed by 6240

Editor

Dr. Vincent W.P. Lee

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Social Work, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong
Interests: social policy; population ageing; social security; long-term care; digital inclusion

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The upcoming Special Issue, "The Role of Caregiving for Older Family Members in Communities," aims to explore the multidimensional roles of informal caregivers who provide constant care to their older family members. As different places around the world face the challenges of population ageing and the shortage of resources in social and medical care, understanding the complex issues related to family caregiving from different angles has become vital for providing more cohesive support for caregivers. This Issue seeks submissions from diverse academic disciplines, including clinical medicine, mental and physical health, social work, nursing, social policy, and urban planning. It shall provide a holistic view of caregiving across different contexts. Contributions are suggested to focus on innovative intervention approaches and practices, policy analysis, or strategies for creating caregiver-friendly environments. Through discussions on family caregivers’ experiences, needs, and challenges, this volume aims to serve as an essential reference for service providers, community workers, and policymakers in planning for effective and adequate support for caregivers in need.

Dr. Vincent W.P. Lee
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Social Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • informal caregivers
  • family caregiving
  • ageing society
  • mental health
  • physical health
  • social care
  • caregiver-friendly environments

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 288 KB  
Article
Navigating a Precarious Dual Transition: The Lived Experience of Early Retirement and Full-Time Caregiving Amid Financial Vulnerability
by Crystal Kwan and Xiqing Huang
Soc. Sci. 2026, 15(7), 462; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci15070462 - 9 Jul 2026
Viewed by 384
Abstract
By 2030, older workers (55–64) will comprise a quarter of the global labour force, making their retirement a critical policy concern. Yet, a gap remains regarding how informal caregiving shapes early retirement for economically vulnerable “ALICE” (Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed) populations. This qualitative descriptive [...] Read more.
By 2030, older workers (55–64) will comprise a quarter of the global labour force, making their retirement a critical policy concern. Yet, a gap remains regarding how informal caregiving shapes early retirement for economically vulnerable “ALICE” (Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed) populations. This qualitative descriptive study explores this intersection in Hong Kong through a theoretical framework integrating linked lives to highlight relational drivers of workforce exit, cumulative disadvantage to contextualize lifelong financial precarity, and the resource-based dynamic perspective to explain how fluctuating resources impact adjustment. A purposive subset of eight primary caregivers was selected for separate analysis from a broader study of 51 working-poor early retirees to specifically examine the intense physical and economic strains unique to full-time eldercare. We identified five themes through reflexive thematic analysis of interview data: (1) caregiving as a primary driver of early retirement; (2) adjusting to the loss of work and value; (3) life on standby; (4) anxiety over the future; and (5) multi-layered resources for adjustment. These findings illustrate how deeply caregiving can complicate the retirement transition for this demographic. Moving forward, a multilevel approach—integrating individual and environmental resources—can help address these complex challenges and inform practice and policy, such as strengthening community-level supports and statutory leave. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Caregiving for Older Family Members in Communities)
24 pages, 488 KB  
Article
Caregivers Who Left: Hong Kong Older Adults, Their British Migrant Children, and Hong Kong Christian Communities—A Group Study from Psychological and Theological Perspectives
by Ann Gillian Chu and Claire Hiu-ching Cheung
Soc. Sci. 2026, 15(4), 218; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci15040218 - 27 Mar 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3490
Abstract
Unpaid caregivers in Hong Kong, China (Hong Kong) are known to be under tremendous stress. The government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) has been funnelling resources to non-profit organisations to support these caregivers in recent years. Since 2020, the British [...] Read more.
Unpaid caregivers in Hong Kong, China (Hong Kong) are known to be under tremendous stress. The government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) has been funnelling resources to non-profit organisations to support these caregivers in recent years. Since 2020, the British government has provided British National (Overseas) passport holders with a pathway to gain citizenship in Britain, and many Hong Kongers, especially young families, have migrated to Britain. This migration includes many former caregivers of older adults who remain in Hong Kong. How do these left-behind elderly parents comprehend the loss of their main caregivers, an extreme case of empty nest? And how do faith-based, especially Evangelical Christian, organisations and churches, support these older adults and their adult children in transnational caregiving? This study employs an ethnographic approach through on-site fieldwork and semi-structured interviews with older adults whose children migrated abroad, social workers at faith-based organisations, and church pastors. These field observations and interviews are supplemented by case studies and interviews published in news outlets. Through this group study, though limited in sample size, this article argues for the importance of faith identity and religious community in supporting both older adults and their caregivers, whether situated locally or remotely, and how faith-based organisations support transnational caregiving through connecting both parties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Caregiving for Older Family Members in Communities)

Review

Jump to: Research

18 pages, 707 KB  
Review
Mapping Divisions of Elder Care Work in Family Contexts: A Gender-Focused Scoping Review of Caregiving Experiences
by Jia Tang, Yingzhe Zhu, Vincent Wan-Ping Lee and Shuang Yang
Soc. Sci. 2026, 15(3), 187; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci15030187 - 15 Mar 2026
Viewed by 1438
Abstract
(1) Background: Rapid global aging has surged demand for elderly family care, a role long dominated by women. This study aims to reveal the specific manifestations of the gender division of labor in elderly family care through a systematic evidence synthesis, covering care [...] Read more.
(1) Background: Rapid global aging has surged demand for elderly family care, a role long dominated by women. This study aims to reveal the specific manifestations of the gender division of labor in elderly family care through a systematic evidence synthesis, covering care tasks, care types, impacts, and driving factors. (2) Methods: We searched four databases (Web of Science (SSCI subsets), Scopus, PubMed, and ProQuest) for articles published between 2015 and 2025. After screening, 45 peer-reviewed articles from 16 countries or regions were included, and thematic analysis was employed for data extraction and evidence synthesis. (3) Findings: The results indicate a differentiated gender division of labor and inequality in elderly family care, where female caregivers bear a greater burden in terms of task assumption, care time allocation, and perception of care impacts. The formation of the gender division of labor results from a dynamic interplay among multiple factors, including objective needs, social norms, and institutional influences. Promisingly, men are increasingly participating in family care for the elderly. (4) Conclusions: The study suggests that gender-sensitive policies should address the gender gap for elderly family care and provide targeted support to alleviate the unequal distribution of care burdens. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Caregiving for Older Family Members in Communities)
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