• Dr. Nandini Shivasharanappa

Population ageing is reshaping care arrangements globally and intensifying debates about the roles of families, communities, markets, and the state in supporting older adults. Informal caregiving in community settings—largely provided by family members, neighbours, and volunteers—remains the backbone of long-term care, especially in low- and middle-income countries where formal services are limited. Against this backdrop, this paper offers a sociological analysis of community-based elder care, focusing on informal caregiving roles, their gendered nature, and their relationship to broader structures of inequality. Drawing on international evidence and India-focused studies, it first outlines the demographic and policy context of population ageing and the rise of “ageing in place” as a policy ideal. It then examines how informal caregivers sustain everyday life for older adults—providing personal care, emotional support, health navigation, and social mediation—while simultaneously facing substantial physical, emotional, and financial burdens. The paper highlights community-level resources and initiatives such as self-help groups, day care centres, and home-based care models that can mitigate caregiver strain and support elder well-being. It argues that community-based elder care is a site where norms of reciprocity, filial duty, and gendered responsibility are both reproduced and renegotiated. The conclusion calls for policy frameworks that recognise, support, and fairly distribute informal care work, rather than treating families and communities as inexhaustible resources.

community-based care; informal caregiving; ageing in place; elder care; gender; India.

"Community-Based Elder Care: Sociological Reflections on Informal Caregiving Roles", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.12, Issue 11, page no.e908-e915, November-2025, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2511513.pdf

"Community-Based Elder Care: Sociological Reflections on Informal Caregiving Roles", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.12, Issue 11, page no. ppe908-e915, November-2025, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2511513.pdf