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Elder Caregiving in Southeast Asia: A Systematic Review of Cultural Norms, Care Burdens, Carer Support and Policy Gaps
Turnbull N, Kongmant R, Hughes D, Toontom N, Chanawong M.. Research Square, 2026-10-29
Topic: Health services, long-term care and technology
Forty-eight studies from ten Southeast Asian countries were reviewed. Findings differed markedly between richer and poorer countries, but across the region caregivers face high workloads, inadequate training, weak support systems, and poor working conditions, resulting in stress, burnout, and reduced quality of life. Dementia-related symptoms, care intensity, and family obligations were consistently linked to caregiver burden. When combined with limited institutional support, sociocultural values such as filial piety, religion, and gender norms functioned both as protective resources and as stressors. Policy gaps were evident in the areas of financial protection, LTC infrastructure, training, and integration between national and community systems. Elder caregiving in Southeast Asia is at a policy crossroads. Wealthier ASEAN countries are expanding formal long-term care, while poorer nations continue to depend on unpaid family caregivers, deepening inequalities. The evidence underscores the need for ring-fenced funding, minimum LTC standards, and stronger support and training for carers. Gender-sensitive, culturally adaptive strategies and ASEAN-level cooperation are vital to transform caregiving into a shared societal responsibility. Trial registration: PROSPERO ID - CRD420251138727
Key findings
- Forty-eight studies from ten Southeast Asian countries were reviewed.
- Findings differed markedly between richer and poorer countries, but across the region caregivers face high workloads, inadequate training, weak support systems, and poor working conditions, resulting in stress, burnout, and reduced quality of life.
- Dementia-related symptoms, care intensity, and family obligations were consistently linked to caregiver burden.
- When combined with limited institutional support, sociocultural values such as filial piety, religion, and gender norms functioned both as protective resources and as stressors.
- Policy gaps were evident in the areas of financial protection, LTC infrastructure, training, and integration between national and community systems.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 16/100
Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. It scored 21 on the same rubric, but non-peer-reviewed sources are capped at 16, so it shows as 16. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 13 of the 62 points we could judge it on, which is 21 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 2 / 10 | Tier 4 — not a peer-reviewed journal (Research Square) |
| Journal's citation record | 0 / 4 | Not a journal article, so the journal's record does not count |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 4 / 10 | Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. Hosted on a preprint server. |
| How recent | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 13 / 62 | Scored on 12 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 13 of the 62 points we could judge it on is 21 out of 100. |
| Total | 21 / 100 | Capped to 16 because this is not a peer-reviewed article. |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Turnbull, N., Kongmant, R., Hughes, D., Toontom, N., & Chanawong, M. (2026). Elder Caregiving in Southeast Asia: A Systematic Review of Cultural Norms, Care Burdens, Carer Support and Policy Gaps. Research Square. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8671736/v1
Vancouver
Turnbull N, Kongmant R, Hughes D, Toontom N, Chanawong M. Elder Caregiving in Southeast Asia: A Systematic Review of Cultural Norms, Care Burdens, Carer Support and Policy Gaps. Research Square. 2026. doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-8671736/v1.
BibTeX
@article{turnbull2026-ca089d79,
author = {Turnbull, N. and Kongmant, R. and Hughes, D. and Toontom, N. and Chanawong, M.},
title = {{Elder Caregiving in Southeast Asia: A Systematic Review of Cultural Norms, Care Burdens, Carer Support and Policy Gaps}},
journal = {Research Square},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.21203/rs.3.rs-8671736/v1},
url = {https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8671736/v1}
}