Background: Aging has caused changes in the structure of families that
raises reflections on the sustainability of the traditional models of family
care for older adults. The aim of this article is to analyze the situation of
living arrangements of Nepalese older people. Methods: This study is a
secondary analysis of structured interview data collected by the Central
Department of Population Studies at Tribhuvan University (TU) via a
cross-sectional survey of community-dwelling persons aged 60+ in
the Pharping area of Kathmandu. For this study, there were 1326 valid
responses. Results: Findings show over four-fifths of
respondents (81.3%) were living with family members, far more than with a
spouse only (11.6%), alone (6.2%), and others (0.9%). The proportion of Populace
residing alone tends to increase with the increase in age of respondents; more
widowers tend to live alone compared to those in marital unions; more elderly
males without living children tend to live alone compared to those who have at
least one living child. The sex of the respondents, marital status, ethnicity,
income situation, and feeling of insecurity have significant differences in the living arrangement of older people in this
study. Conclusion: Traditionally, Nepalese older adults are contented to live
with their family members. The government of Nepal should promote the
traditional living arrangements of older people through some incentives
providing for family members taking care of their senior citizens.
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