Family Care of the Elderly: Underlying Assumptions and their Consequences

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Abstract
Through a review of the literature, this article explores the debate between the traditional perspective that conceives it as natural that families take care of their elderly members when frail or in need and an emerging critique of this view. The critique exposes the invisible divisions of caring work between men and women and between public and private arenas, and challenges the comfortable imagery of ‘family care.’ The implications of this analysis for the future are considered, both for constructive changes in social policies and for the reformulation of assumptions on which research and practice with the frail elderly and their families are based.