Abstract
Although there has been an increase in awareness of the struggles experienced by caregivers, discourse on caregiving remains confined mostly to academia, policy circles or the family unit. There have been suggestions that public discourse on informal caregiving dwells overwhelmingly on the outsize toll it takes on the health of caregivers. However, few studies have examined societal narratives on caregivers—a gap our study aims to fill. We leveraged an online media database of 12 billion words collated from over 30 million articles to explore societal narratives on caregivers in six Asian countries. Computational linguistics and statistical analysis were applied to study the content of narratives on caregivers. The prevalence of societal narratives on caregivers was highest in Singapore—five times higher than Sri Lanka, which evidenced the lowest prevalence. Findings reveal that the inadequacies of institutional care as well as the need to train and empower caregivers are pressing issues that need to be prioritized on the policy agenda in Asia. Of broader significance, the diverse capabilities across Asia present opportunities for cross-country learning and capacity-building.
Highlights
The global life expectancy has more than doubled over the last hundred years—undeniably one of the greatest advancements of the 20th century
We focus on the societal narratives surrounding caregivers in Asia for several reasons
This study provides crucial insights into what could be prioritized on the policy agenda, functioning as an evaluative toolkit that will guide policymakers in managing issues regarding caregivers
Summary
The global life expectancy has more than doubled over the last hundred years—undeniably one of the greatest advancements of the 20th century. The global life expectancy has more than doubled over the last hundred years—. Preliminary estimates suggest that by 2030, the global population aged 80 years and above will triple between. Coupled with the growing burden of chronic diseases, the result is a healthcare system ill-equipped to handle the escalating demand for long-term care [2]. Amid this rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, the role of informal caregivers has assumed added prominence [3]. Caregivers constitute a vital component of the healthcare system. While the value of their contributions worldwide is difficult to quantify, the approximate economic value of the services provided by caregivers in the United States totaled $470 billion in 2017 [5]
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