Elisabeth Schroeder-Butterfill

Care Networks in Indonesia

This page provides information and resources about the research project “Care networks in later life: A comparative study of five communities in Indonesia”. The project ran from 10/2019 to 03/2024. It was led by Dr Elisabeth Schröder-Butterfill, Department of Gerontology, University of Southampton. The research was a collaboration between the University of Southampton, Atma Jaya Catholic University, Jakarta, the University of Oxford and Loughborough University. The project was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, UK.

contents

How can the care needs of older people be met in sustainable, fair and culturally acceptable ways? This project aims to answer this question in relation to Indonesia, the world’s fourth largest population. It seeks to understand what care needs older Indonesians have; who provides care; what acceptable care looks like; and how care-dependent people are perceived. The project involves ethnographic research in five diverse communities. The research sites are located in West Sumatra, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, East Java, and Alor.

This short film brings to life the reality of older people’s care in Indonesia. It shows the diversity of circumstances in different areas across Indonesia, and the challenges that older people and families face in achieving a good level of care.

Film pendek ini menghidupkan realitas perawatan lansia di Indonesia. Hal ini menunjukkan keragaman keadaan di berbagai wilayah di Indonesia, dan tantangan yang dihadapi lansia dan keluarga dalam mencapai tingkat layanan yang baik.

This film depicts the value and contributions that community volunteers in Indonesia make to the lives of older people who are no longer able to leave the house to access health services. It is the outcome of a pilot intervention to deliver home visits to older people by trained volunteers in Yogyakarta (Indonesia).

Film ini menggambarkan nilai dan kontribusi yang diberikan oleh kader di Yogyakarta (Indonesia) terhadap kehidupan para lansia yang tidak dapat lagi keluar rumah untuk mengakses layanan kesehatan. Terdapat dua gambaran kegiatan dalam film ini. Gambaran pertama merupakan kegiatan Kader Home Visit di area intervensi percontohan yang merupakan bagian dari proyek penelitian tentang jaringan perawatan lansia di Indonesia.

This short ethnographic video portrays the lives of older people and the care their receive in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. It is the result of fieldwork in a village in Sleman district.

Film etnografi ini menceritakan nukilan kisah hidup beberapa orang lansia di Yogyakarta dan cara perawatan mereka.

Policy Briefings

  1. This document summarises key findings from our research and makes a number of recommendations for improving the quality of life of older care dependent people and their family carers.

    [English version]
    [Bahasa Indonesia version]

  2. This briefing paper presents insights from a home visit pilot project undertaken in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. It argues that home visits by trained community volunteers to older housebound people improves their access to healthcare, provides health and care advice to informal carers, and enables the continued integration of older people in their communities.

    [English version]
    [Bahasa Indonesia version]

Handbook for Carers and Volunteers (Bahasa Indonesia)

This handbook includes valuable practical advice and recommendations for the care of older people by family carers or healthcare volunteers.

[Bahasa Indonesia]

Publications

Insriani, H., Mitra, R., Schröder-Butterfill E (2024). Older People Living Alone and Their Strategies to Face Life: Case Studies from Yogyakarta and West Sumatra. Humaniora 36(1): 57-71. doi: 10.22146/jh.92323

Larastiti, C., Widjaya, H., White, B. (2024) Class and Gender in Older People Care in Rural Yogyakarta. Humaniora 36(1): 8-24. doi: 10.22146/jh.92232

Ekawati, L., Wijaya, N.I.K., Delpada, B. (2024) Entrusting Children to Grandmothers: Exploring Care Dynamics through Multiple Roles of Women in Eastern Indonesia. Humaniora 36(1): 72-83. doi: 10.22146/jh.93794

Schröder-Butterfill, E., Porath, N., Handajani, Y. S., Larastiti, C., Delpada, B., Hogervorst, E., Insriani, H., Jelly, Kreager, P., Rahayuningtyas, D., Sare, Y., & Tresno. (2023). Vulnerable, Heroic … or Invisible? Representations Versus Realities of Later Life in Indonesia. Progress in Development Studies, 23(4), 408-426. doi: 10.1177/14649934231197277

Handajani YS, Hogervorst E, Schröder-Butterfill E, Turana Y, Hengky A. (2023) Functional Dependency and Its Associated Factors among Older Adults in Indonesia. Aging Medicine and Healthcare 14(3): 146-155. doi: 10.33879/AMH.143.2022.05051

Handajani YS, Hogervorst E, Schröder-Butterfill E, Turana Y, Hengky A. (2023). Memory impairment and its associated risk and protective factors among older adults in Indonesia. The International Journal of Neuroscience, pp. 1-9. doi: 10.1080/00207454.2023.2183788

Handajani Y, Schröder-Butterfill E, Hogervorst E, Turana Y, Hengky A. (2022). Depression among Older Adults in Indonesia: Prevalence, Role of Chronic Conditions and Other Associated Factors. Clinical Practice & Epidemiology in Mental Health, (1), doi: 10.2174/17450179-v18-e2207010

Hogervorst, E., Schröder-Butterfill, E., Handajani, Y. S., Kreager, P., & Rahardjo, T. B. (2021). Dementia and Dependency vs. Proxy Indicators of the Active Ageing Index in Indonesia. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(8235). doi: 10.3390/ijerph18168235

Handajani Y, Butterfill E, Hengky A, Sugiyono S, Lamadong V, Turana Y. (2022). Sarcopenia and impairment in global cognitive, delayed memory, and olfactory function, among community-dwelling adults, in Jakarta, Indonesia: Active aging study. Tzu Chi Medical Journal, doi: 10.4103/tcmj.tcmj_175_22

Research findings

... are available on the UKRI’s page for this project

Research Team