Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-29T07:38:10.607Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The National Policy on Elderly People in Singapore

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 November 2008

Peggy Teo
Peggy Teo
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, Kent Ridge, Singapore0511.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Expanding longevity among elderly people and fertility decline are contributing to the ageing of Singapore's population. By 2030, the proportion of persons aged 60 and above will be 26% of the total population. A national policy on elderly persons was formulated in 1989 which incorporated four issues: employment of elderly persons in the workforce; attitudes toward elderly people; community care; and residential care. This paper discusses each of these agenda with the view of assessing their strengths and weaknesses. The section on residential care is supported by empirical data. The paper concludes that elderly people in Singapore suffer from a high degree of enforced dependence which will need to be reviewed. In particular, a consultative approach in keeping with the more liberal attitude of the second generation leadership will help Singapore to achieve higher standards of care for an increasingly affluent elderly population.

Keywords

national policyemploymentcommunity careresidential careattitudes
Type
Research Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 14 , Issue 3 , September 1994 , pp. 405 - 427
Copyright
Copyright Cambridge University Press 1994

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Arber, S. and Ginn, J. 1991. Gender and Later Life: A Sociological Analysis of Resources and Constraints. Sage Publications, London.Google Scholar
Baldwin, N., Harris, J. and Kelly, D. 1993. Institutionalisation: Why blame the institution? Ageing and Society, 13, 69–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bond, J. 1989. Evaluation of Continuing-care Accommodation for Elderly People. University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne Press, Newcastle.Google Scholar
Brody, E. 1990. Women in the Middle. Springler-Verlag, New York.Google Scholar
Cantor, M. H. 1985. Families: A basic source of long-term care for the elderly. Aging, 349, 9–13.Google Scholar
Chen, T. C. 1974. Fertility Transition in Singapore. Singapore University Press, Singapore.Google Scholar
Chen, A.J. and Cheung, P. 1988. The Elderly in Singapore. Phase III ASEAN Population Project on Socioeconomic Consequences of the Ageing of Population, Singapore Country Report. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore.Google Scholar
Chen, P. and Fawcett, J. (eds). 1979. Public Policy and Population Change in Singapore. The Population Council, New York.Google Scholar
Cheung, P. 1989. Beyond demographic transition: Industrialisation and population change in Singapore. Asia-Pacific Population Journal, 4, 35–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chua, B. H. 1985. Pragmatism in the Peoples' Action Party government in Singapore. Southeast Asian Journal of Social Science, 13, 29–46.Google Scholar
Department of Statistics. 1957. Census of Population 1957. Department of Statistics, Singapore.Google Scholar
Department of Statistics. 1983. Economic and Social Statistics Singapore 1960–1982. Department of Statistics, Singapore.Google Scholar
Department of Statistics. 1992 a. Singapore Census of Population 1990, Statistical Release No. I. Department of Statistics, Singapore.Google Scholar
Department of Statistics. 1992 b. Yearbook of Statistics 1992, Department of Statistics, Singapore.Google Scholar
Department of Statistics. 1993. Singapore Census of Population 1990, Statistical Release No. 3. Department of Statistics, Singapore.Google Scholar
Dixon, C. 1991. Southeast Asia in the World Economy. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gibbs, I. and Sinclair, I. 1992. Residential care for elderly people: The correlates of quality. Ageing and Society, 12, 463–482.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goffman, E. 1961. Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates. Doubleday, New York.Google Scholar
Goldberg, E. and Connelly, N. 1982. The Effectiveness of Social Care for the Elderly. Heinemann, London.Google Scholar
Goldberg, S. 1987. Mixed messages: public policy and women in Singapore. Commentary, 7, 25–37.Google Scholar
Government of Singapore. 1991. The Next Lap. Times Editions (Pte) Ltd., Singapore.Google Scholar
Harder, W. P., Gornick, J. C. and Burt, M. R. 1986. Adult day care: Substitute or supplement? The Milbank Quarterly, 64, 414–441.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jamshidi, R., Oppenheimer, A. J., Lee, D. S., Lepar, F. H. and Esphenshade, T. J. 1992. Aging in America: Limits to life-span and elderly care options. Population Research and Policy Review, 11, 169–190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kandiah, S. 1986/1987. Women in a patriarchy: The Singapore case. Unpublished academic exercise, Department of Political Science, National University of Singapore, Singapore.Google Scholar
Kane, R. L. and Kane, R. A. 1990. Healthcare for older people: Organisational and policy issues. In Binstock, R. H. and George, L. K. (eds), Handbook on Aging and Social Science, third edition, Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Koh, T. A. 1987. Who's managing the home? Commentary, 7, 130–134.Google Scholar
Kuo, E. and Chiew, S. K. 1984. Ethnicity and Fertility in Singapore. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies Discussion Paper No. 48, Singapore.Google Scholar
Lee, S. A. 1989. Expansion of the services sector. In Wheatley, P. and Sandhu, K. (eds), Management of Success: The Moulding of Modern Singapore, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore.Google Scholar
Ministry of Health. 1984. Report of the Committee on the Problems of the Aged. Ministry of Home Affairs, Singapore.Google Scholar
Ministry of Home Affairs. 1989. Report of the Advisory Council on the Aged. Ministry of Home Affairs, Singapore.Google Scholar
Ng, G. H. 1992. Service directions for voluntary welfare organisations serving the elderly. In Yap, M. T. (ed), Social Services, Times Academic Press, Singapore.Google Scholar
Peace, S., Hall, J. and Hamblin, G. 1979. The Quality of Life of the Elderly in Residential Care. Polytechnic of North London, London.Google Scholar
Qureshi, H. and Walker, A. 1986. Caring for elderly people: the family and the state. In Phillipson, C. and Walker, A. (eds), Ageing and Social Policy: A Critical Assessment, Gower Publishing, Aldershot.Google Scholar
Rowles, G. D. 1978. Prisoners of Space: Exploring the Geographical Experience of Older People. Westview Press, Boulder.Google Scholar
Rowles, G. D. 1983. Place and personal identity in old age: Observations from Appalachia. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 3, 299–313.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Savage, V. R. 1992. Human-environment relations: Singapore's environmental ideology. In Ban, K. C., Pakir, A. and Tong, C. K. (eds), Imagining Singapore, Times Academic Press, Singapore.Google Scholar
Saw, S. H. 1987. New Population and Labour Force Projections and Policy Implications for Singapore. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies Discussion Paper No. 61, Singapore.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shantakumar, G. 1992. Workshop Summary. In Yap, M. T. (ed), Social Services, Times Academic Press, Singapore.Google Scholar
Sieh, M. L. 1988. Malaysian workers in Singapore. The Singapore Economic Review, 23, 101–111.Google Scholar
Singapore Council of Social Service. 1988. Directory of Social Services. Singapore Council of Social Service, Singapore.Google Scholar
The Straits Times, Various issues.Google Scholar
Thomsom, G. G. 1979. The historical and political context of population policies. In Chen, P. and Fawcett, J. (eds), Public Policy and Population Change in Singapore, Population Council, New York.Google Scholar
Townsend, P. 1962. The Last Refuge. Routledge and Kegan Paul, London.Google Scholar
Townsend, P. 1981. The structured dependency of the elderly: The creation of social policy in the twentieth century. Ageing and Society, 1, 5–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Townsend, P. 1986. Ageism and social policy. In Phillipson, C. and Walker, A. (eds), Ageing and Social Policy: A Critical Assessment, Gower Publishing, Aldershot.Google Scholar
Willcocks, D. 1986. Residential care. In Phillipson, C. and Walker, A. (eds), Ageing and Social Policy: A Critical Assessment, Gower Publishing, Aldershot.Google Scholar
Yap, M. T. 1991. (ed.). Social Services. Times Academic Press, Singapore.Google Scholar
Yap, M. T. 1989. The demographic base. In Wheatley, P. and Sandhu, S. (eds), Management of Success: The Moulding of Modern Singapore. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore.Google Scholar