This living glossary brings together key concepts and everyday terms related to ageing that emerged throughout my literature review and anthropological fieldwork, presented in a succinct and accessible form. It is intended primarily as a working reference for my own research, but I would be delighted if it also proves useful to others interested in ageing studies.
Disclaimer* Citations accompanying glossary entries merely indicate where I encountered the term, not necessarily its original source or first use.
A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · J · K · L · M · N · O · P · Q · R · S · T · U · V · W · X · Y · Z
A
Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)
Basic self-care tasks essential for independent living, such as bathing, dressing, eating, toileting, transferring, and continence (HSBC Life et al., 2020).
See also* IADLs
Ageing in Place
One’s ability to live safely, independently, and comfortably in their own homes and communities for as long as possible, preferably through appropriate health, social, housing, and community support services (Fong & Tong, 2024: 67).
Ageing-in-Place Scheme 安居傳耆 –「樂得耆所」居家安老計劃 🇭🇰
It is a Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS) initiative that piloted in 2012 and was extended to all 20 HKHS rental housing estates in 2016. It supports ageing in place through a three-pronged service model comprising home modification & maintenance, integrated health & social care support, and community engagement (Fong & Tong, 2024: 73-74).
Ageism
Treating someone differently because of their age. It is also often seen as prejudice by one age group against another age group. It can be either positive or negative, yet it tends to carry negative consequences by creating self-fulfilling prophecies (Ayalon & Tesch-Römer, 2018).
B
Birth Rate
The number of live births per 1,000 people in a population in one year.
Note: Birth rate uses the total population as the denominator, which includes people who do not or cannot have children, making it less useful than fertility measures for studying reproductive behavior.
Bloomberg Health-Care Efficiency Index
A measure of how effectively a healthcare system converts its resources (e.g., spending, workforce, facilities) into good health outcomes (e.g., longer life expectancy, lower mortality, better quality of care). Hong Kong was ranked second in 2020, and first in 2023. (LegCo HKSAR, 2025)
C
Call and Care/ Care-On-Call Service 平安鐘 🇭🇰
A Hong Kong emergency support service operated by the Senior Citizen Home Safety Association, launched in 1996 (with the dedicated Call & Care Service Centre established in 1997), that provides 24-hour emergency assistance (Senior Citizen Home Safety Association, n.d.).
Cohort Effect
Differences in characteristics or outcomes among groups of people (cohorts) caused by shared experiences or events during the same time period, rather than by ageing itself.
E.g., The fluoridation of water in Hong Kong in 1961 had an impact on dental health and tooth decay (Fong & Tong, 2024: 6).
D
Decade of Healthy Ageing
The United Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030) is a global collaboration, aligned with the last ten years of the Sustainable Development Goals, to improve the lives of older people, their families, and the communities in which they live (World Health Organization, n.d.).
Diamond Leisure 鑽的休娛 🇭🇰
Launched in 2014, by Diamond Cab, the project organises wheelchair-accessible leisure outings for older adults, enabling residents of care homes to visit community attractions, reduce social isolation, and promote accessible, age-friendly tourism (Diamond Cab (Hong Kong) Limited, n.d.).
District-based Carer Training Scheme 護老培訓地區計劃 🇭🇰
Launched in 2007, it trains volunteers to serve as elder sitters who can provide support and respite to informal elder carers. As for 2013, 88 elderly centres were participating in the scheme (Fong & Tong, 2024: 18).
District Health Centres (DHCs) 地區康健中心 🇭🇰
A HK government-funded, district-based healthcare hub that promotes disease prevention, health promotion, chronic disease management, and community rehabilitation through public-private partnerships. The first DHC opened in Kwai Tsing in September 2019, with the model subsequently expanded across all 18 districts (Fong & Tong, 2024: xxxi-xxxii).
E
Ecological Theory of Ageing (Lawton–Nahemow Model)
A theory proposing that older people’s functioning and well-being depend on the balance between their personal competence (e.g., physical, cognitive, and social abilities) and the environmental demands or pressure they face, with optimal outcomes achieved when the environment matches their abilities (Lawton and Nahemow, 1973).
Elder Academy Scheme 長者學苑 🇭🇰
Launched in 2007 and enables older adults to attend learning activities in schools and tertiary institutions, promoting lifelong learning, active ageing, intergenerational harmony, and social inclusion (Fong & Tong, 2024: 18).
Elderly Commission 安老事務委員會 🇭🇰
A government-appointed advisory body established in 1997 and in 2001, it launched the Healthy Ageing Campaign 「康健樂頤年」運動 which aimed to (Fong & Tong, 2024: 13):
① Promote personal responsibility (neoliberal af…)
② Strengthen community action
③ Create supportive environments
④ Improve the image of ageing
Elderly Leading the Elderly to Watch Birds Project 長者引領長者觀鳥計劃 🇭🇰
An ageing programme by the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society (HKBWS) that trains older adults as volunteer bird-watching guides to lead birdwatching and nature education activities for other older adults and the public, promoting lifelong learning, social participation, and environmental awareness (Fong & Tong, 2024: 14).
Elderly Health Centres (EHC) 長者健康中心 🇭🇰
18 Centres providing membership-based comprehensive primary to tertiary preventions, including health assessments, health education, counselling, and preventive care for adults aged 65 years and above (Department of Health, 2019).
Elderly Health Service (EHS) 長者健康服務 🇭🇰
Established in 1998 under the Government Department of Health with 18 Elderly Health Centres 長者健康中心 (EHC) and 18 Visiting Health Teams 長者健康外展分隊 (VHT). It enhances primary healthcare by minimising illness and disability (Fong & Tong, 2024: 20).
Elderly Vaccination Subsidy Scheme 長者疫苗資助計劃 🇭🇰
Launched in 2009, it provides those over 65 with a subsidy of HK$260 per dose to get seasonal influ shots from enrolled private doctors, plus a subisdy of HK$400 per dose for 23vPPV and HK$800 per dose for PCV13 (Fong & Tong, 2024: 27).
Enhanced Bought Place Scheme (EBPS) 改善買位計劃 🇭🇰
Introduced in November 1998, the EBPS purchases places from private residential care homes that meet enhanced staffing and space standards, increasing subsidized long-term care places and improving service quality.
Among the 614 private RCHEs, 195 have joined the EBPS, where the government subsidizes places at approximately HK$11,000 per bed per month (Yeung, 2025).
Evolutionary Theories on Group Membership
Proposes that humans evolved to form stable social groups because group living improved survival and reproduction, promoting cooperation, resource sharing, and distinctions between ingroup “us” and outgroup “them” (Burnstein et al., 1994, as cited in Ayalon & Tesch-Römer, 2018: 6).
F
Fai Lou 廢老 (useless old/ old trash) 🇭🇰
A derogatory Cantonese slang term referring to an older person perceived as unreasonable, hypocritical, or out of touch. It originated by analogy with 廢青 (useless youth), an insult often used by older people to criticize younger generations. 廢老 later emerged as a kind of generational comeback.
Four-Two-One Structure (4-2-1 structure) 🇨🇳
A family structure common in China as a result of the one-child policy, in which four grandparents and two parents focus their care and expectations on one child, who often later assumes responsibility for supporting both older generations (Huang, 2025: 68).
G
Government Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme for the Elderly and Eligible Persons with Disabilities (The $2 Scheme) 🇭🇰
Implemented in 2012, it allows eligible older people (aged 60 or above) and persons with disabilities to travel on designated public transport services at a concessionary fare of HK$2 per trip, promoting mobility, social inclusion, and community participation (Fong & Tong, 2024: 16).
H
Health (WHO’s take)
A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (World Health Organization, n.d.).
Health Care Voucher Scheme 醫療劵計劃 🇭🇰
Launched in 2009, it provides annual non-public primary healthcare service vouchers to eligible older adults over 70 (now 65). The current voucher amount is HK$2,000 per year with a ceiling of accumulated funds at HK$8,000 (Fong & Tong, 2024: 27).
I
Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs)
More complex daily tasks needed for independent overall well-being, not just basic physical needs. E.g., managing finances, taking medications, shopping, cooking, housekeeping, using transportation, and using the telephone. (HSBC Life et al., 2020)
See also* ADLs
Intergenerational Conflict Theory
Ageism arises from prescriptive beliefs about how older people should behave toward younger generations, leading to resentment when they are perceived to violate age-based expectations regarding resource succession, age-appropriate identity, or resource consumption (North & Fiske, 2013, as cited in Ayalon & Tesch-Römer, 2018: 6).
Intergroup Threat Theory
Prejudice, discrimination, and negative attitudes arise when members of one group perceive another group as threatening their group’s ① power, resources, welfare and ② world view, belief system, values (Stephan & Mealy, 2011, as cited in Ayalon & Tesch-Römer, 2018: 6).
J
JC Stand-by U 賽馬會友伴同盟護老者支援計劃 🇭🇰
A Hong Kong Jockey Club–funded community support programme that provides free in-home respite care, volunteer support, and caregiver resources to help family caregivers of homebound older adults reduce caregiving burden and improve well-being. (The University of Hong Kong, n.d.)
K
Kaigozukare 介護疲れ (Care fatigue) 🇯🇵
Fatigue and burden on family members as a result of having to constantly take care of elderly family members who suffer from slow progressing dementia among other mental and physical decline (Hames, 2020: 9).
Kodokushi 孤独死 (Lonely death) 🇯🇵
A person, often an older person living alone, dies in isolation and remains undiscovered for an extended period (Hames, 2020: 10).
L
Laodeng 老登 🇨🇳
A Mainland Chinese slang term describing a patriarchal, entitled, and condescending male mindset, characterized by behaviors such as unsolicited lecturing (aka mansplaining), ordering women around, assuming male superiority, or reinforcing traditional gender stereotypes. It primarily criticizes a misogynistic mindset rather than age, but there is indeed the stereotype that older men are more likely to embody such attitudes (Shu, 2025).
M
Modernization Theory of Ageing
The social status and authority of older people tend to decline as societies become more modernized through:
① Health: life expectancy creates a less distinctive segment of society
② Economic development: Older displaced by younger workers with newer skills
③ Urbanization: older people lose traditional authority within kinship networks
④ Education: traditional knowledge held by older people becomes less valuable (Cowgill, 1974).
N
Neighbourhood Active Ageing Project 左鄰右里積極樂頤年計劃 🇭🇰
A Hong Kong community initiative, launched as a pilot in 2008 by the Labour and Welfare Bureau and the Elderly Commission, that promoted neighbourhood support networks and promoted mutual help, with the objective to help identify and reach out to hidden elders who may be at risk of suicide. It was later merged with the Opportunities for the Elderly Project (OEP) in 2016 (Fong & Tong, 2024: 19).
Nisetai jūtaku 二世帯住宅 (Two or multi-generational home) 🇯🇵
A multi-generational home in Japan designed for two households, typically parents and their adult children, to live together while maintaining separate or semi-independent living spaces. Sources of conflict like water is seperated (Brown, 2003).
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs)
Chronic, non-infectious diseases that are traditionally considered to not spread from person to person (cough cough microbiome), such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases.
Nureochiba 濡れ落ち葉 (Fallen Wet Leaves) 🇯🇵
A phrase employed by Japanese wives to describe their retired and stay-at-home husbands, comparing them to sticky things on one’s shoes that are difficult to brush away (Hames, 2020: 9).
O
Old-age Dependency Ratio
The number of people aged 65 years and over per 100 people of working age (20–64 years), indicating the potential economic burden of an ageing population (OECD, n.d.).
Hong Kong = 154 (2001), 177 (2011), 282 (2021) (Fong & Tong, 2024: 4).
*Not to be confused with Dependency Ratio, which also includes people aged 14 or under.
Old Age Living Allowance (OALA) 長者生活津貼 (長生津) 🇭🇰
A monthly allowance in Hong Kong under the Social Security Allowance Scheme designed to supplement the living expenses of Hong Kong older people aged 65 or above who are in need of financial support. As for March 2026, the monthly payment of OALA is $4,345 (Social Welfare Department, 2026).
Opportunities for the Elderly Project 老有所為活動計劃 (OEP) 🇭🇰
Supports community projects enabling older adults to contribute to society through biennial themed funding cycles addressing evolving ageing priorities (E.g., 2016–18: Strengthening Support Networks; 2026–28: Harnessing Silver Wisdom, Co-creating a Legacy of Vitality) (Social Welfare Department, n.d.).
P
Polypharmacy
A condition in which one has to take more than one type of medicine or to take more medicine that medically required (Maher, Hanlon and Hajjar, 2014).
Q
R
Replacement fertility
The total fertility rate at which women give birth to enough babies to sustain population levels. In most developed countries, it is about 2.1 children per woman. Hong Kong = 1.051 in 2019 (Fong & Tong, 2024: 3).
Residential Care Homes for the Elderly (RCHEs) 安老院 🇭🇰
RCHEs in Hong Kong can generally be classified into the following categories:
① Subvented Homes: fully funded and operated by NGOs
② Contract Homes: operated under government contracts
③ Self-financing Homes: NGO-run but non-subsidized
④ Private Homes: run by private operators, some participating in government subsidy schemes
According to the Social Welfare Department, as of 2024, there are approximately 819 licensed RCHEs in Hong Kong, offering a total of around 76,000 residential care places across various schemes (Yeung, 2025).
S
Sandwich Generation
Adults who simultaneously care for their ageing parents and support their own children, creating financial, emotional, and caregiving pressures. Some like the dama in Huang’s ethnography may even have to take care of their grandkids (Huang, 2025: 54).
Seizensō 生前葬 (Living/ pre-death funeral) 🇯🇵
A funeral ceremony held while a person is still alive, allowing them to celebrate life, express gratitude, and say goodbye to family and friends (Suzuki, 1998).
Senior Citizen Card 長者咭 🇭🇰
A HK government-issued card, launched in 1994, for residents aged 65 or above that provides discounts, concessions, and priority services from 8,500 outlets of some 2,700 private enterprises (Fong & Tong, 2024: 16).
Senior Citizen Home Safety Association (SCHSA) 長者安居協會 🇭🇰
A Hong Kong non-profit charitable organisation, established in 1996, that promotes ageing in place by providing 24-hour emergency support through the Call and Care (平安鐘) service (Senior Citizen Home Safety Association, n.d.).
Shakaiteki nyuin 社会的入院 (Social hospitalization) 🇯🇵
An older patient might occupy a hospital bed for a decade as families are unable or unwilling to provide care at home (Hames, 2020: 10).
Silver Economy
The economic opportunities arising from population ageing, encompassing the production, consumption, employment, and innovation related to the needs, spending power, and contributions of older adults (Abid & Achour, 2026).
Known locally in Hong Kong as the Silver Hair Market 銀髮市場.
Stereotype Content Model
People evaluate social groups along two uNivERsAl dimensions: ① Warmth: friendliness, trustworthiness, well-intention ② Competence: Capability, intelligence, effectiveness? Different combinations of warmth and competence produce distinct stereotypes and emotional responses toward different social groups (Fiske et al., 2002, as cited in Ayalon & Tesch-Römer, 2018: 5).
Stereotype Embodiment Theory
Age stereotypes encountered throughout life become internalized and are eventually directed toward oneself in old age, influencing psychological, behavioral, and physiological outcomes (Levy et al., 2002, as cited in Ayalon & Tesch-Römer, 2018: 5).
Successful Ageing
The dominant model of ageing that views older people as capable of and responsible for maintaining physical and cognitive health, social and productive engagement, independence, and personal control over their ageing process (Lamb, 2014).
T
Tanin no sewa 他人の世話 (Support from people who aren’t kin) 🇯🇵
The cultural aversion to receiving non-kin help and care, in the context of Japan, used to explain public shortage of care facilities, instead putting the expectation of care on family members (Hames, 2020: 9).
Terror Management Theory
The awareness of one’s inevitable death creates existential anxiety and terror, which people manage by embracing cultural worldviews and maintaining self-esteem that provide meaning, order, and a sense of symbolic or literal immortality (Greenberg et al., 1986, as cited in Ayalon & Tesch-Römer, 2018: 4).
Three Levels of Prevention
A public health framework that classifies interventions into:
① Primary: Risk Reduction
E.g., Make smoking illegal.
② Secondary: Early detection and treatment
E.g., Active health screening
③ Tertiary: Rehabilitation
E.g., Support those with existing disease or disability (Fong & Tong, 2024: 11-12).
Total Fertility Rate
The average number of children a woman is expected to have during her reproductive years. In other words: number of children per woman.
Total Institution
Institutions in which individuals live, work, and socialize within the same enclosed setting under a single authority, with their daily activities tightly regulated according to formal rules and schedules. They seek to reshape individuals’ identities by separating them from wider society and controlling everyday life (Goffman, 1961).
U
University of the Third Age (U3A)
An international lifelong learning movement that provides non-formal educational, social, and recreational opportunities for older adults after retirement, promoting active ageing and lifelong learning (Casanova, Weil and Cerqueira, 2024).
V
Visiting Health Teams (VHT) 長者健康外展分隊 🇭🇰
Hong Kong Department of Health outreach teams, established in 1998 under the Elderly Health Service, that provide health promotion, disease prevention, and caregiver training through educational talks, consultations, and outreach programmes (Department of Health, 2019).
W
Worthy and Unworthy Victims
The selective portrayal of victims by the media, where those whose suffering serves political interests and by extension greater societal interests, receive extensive sympathetic coverage, while others are ignored or minimized. (Herman & Chomsky, 1988, as cited in Patel, 2010: 74-75).
X
Y
Z
Uncategorized
老有所養、老有所屬、老有所為 🇭🇰
Hong Kong Government’s strategeic policy objective and slogan, which translates into “a sense of security, a sense of belonging, and a feeling of health and worth” (Fong & Tong, 2024: 12).
References:
- Abid, I., Achour, Z., & IGI Global Scientific Publishing, publisher. (2026). Economic transformations in population aging : unlocking the silver economy. IGI Global Scientific Publishing.
- Ayalon, L., & Tesch-Römer, C. (2018). Introduction to the section: Ageism—Concept and origins. In L. Ayalon & C. Tesch-Römer (Eds.), Contemporary perspectives on ageism (pp. 1–10). Springer.
- Brown, N. (2003). Under one roof: The evolving story of three generation housing in Japan. In J. W. Traphagan & J. Knight (Eds.), Demographic change and the family in Japan’s aging society (pp. 53–88). State University of New York Press.
- Burnstein, E., Crandall, C., & Kitayama, S. (1994). Some neo-Darwinian decision rules for altru- ism: Weighing cues for inclusive fitness as a function of the biological importance of the decision. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67(5), 773–789.
- Casanova, G., Weil, J., & Cerqueira, M. (2024). The evolution of universities of the third age around the world: A historical review. Gerontology & geriatrics education, 45(3), 483–498.
- Cowgill, D. O. (1974). Aging and modernization: a revision of the theory. In Gubrium, JF (ed.). Later life: Communities and Environmental Policy. Springfield, IL: Thomas, pp. 123–146.
- Diamond Cab (Hong Kong) Limited. (n.d.). Diamond Leisure. https://diamondcab.com.hk/en-leisure/
- Department of Health. (2019, October 1). Elderly Health Service. The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. https://www.dh.gov.hk/english/main/main_ehs/main_ehs.html
- Fiske, S. T., Cuddy, A. J., Glick, P., & Xu, J. (2002). A model of (often mixed) stereotype content: Competence and warmth respectively follow from perceived status and competition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(6), 878–902.
- Fong, N., & Tong, K. (Eds.). (2024). Ageing care in the community: Current practices and future directions. City University of Hong Kong Press.
- Goffman, E. (1961). Asylums: Essays on the social situation of mental patients and other inmates. Anchor Books.
- Greenberg, J., Pyszczynski, T., & Solomon, S. (1986). The causes and consequences of a need for self-esteem: A terror management theory. In R. Baumeister (Ed.), Public self and private self (pp. 189–212). New York: Springer.
- Hames, A. (2020). Ageing and the Case of Democratic Medicine in Japan. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 35(1), 1–33.
- Herman, E. S., & Chomsky, N. (1988). Manufacturing consent: The political economy of the mass media. Pantheon Books.
- HSBC Life, Sau Po Centre on Ageing, The University of Hong Kong, & The Women’s Foundation. (2020). Working dementia caregivers: Challenges and needs. https://twfhk.org/working-dementia-caregivers-challenges-and-needs/
- Huang, C. (2025). Dancing for their lives: The pursuit of meaningful aging in urban China. Rutgers University Press.
- Lamb, S. (2014). Permanent personhood or meaningful decline? Toward a critical anthropology of successful aging. Journal of Aging Studies, 29, 41–52.
- Lawton, M. P., & Nahemow, L. (1973). Ecology and the aging process. In C. Eisdorfer & M. P. Lawton (Eds.), The psychology of adult development and aging (pp. 619–674). American Psychological Association.
- Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. (2025). LC Paper No. CB(3)1432/2025(01). https://www.legco.gov.hk/yr2025/english/panels/ps/papers/ps20251013cb3-1432-1-e.pdf
- Levy, B. R., Slade, M. D., & Kasl, S. V. (2002). Longitudinal benefit of positive self-perceptions of aging on functional health. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 57(5), 409–417.
- Maher, R. L., Hanlon, J., & Hajjar, E. R. (2014). Clinical consequences of polypharmacy in elderly. Expert Opinion on Drug Safety, 13(1), 57–65.
- North, M. S., & Fiske, S. T. (2013). A prescriptive intergenerational-tension ageism scale: Succession, identity, and consumption (SIC). Psychological Assessment, 25(3), 706–713.
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (n.d.). Old-age dependency ratio. https://www.oecd.org/en/data/indicators/old-age-dependency-ratio.html
- Patel, R. (2010). Working the night shift: Women in India’s call center industry. Stanford University Press.
- Senior Citizen Home Safety Association. (n.d.). SCHSA’s history. https://www.schsa.org.hk/en/about-us/schsa-history
- Shu, X. (2025, October 3). Q&A: What is “老登 (lǎo dēng)” and why it’s everywhere. Peking Quack. https://pekingquack.substack.com/p/q-and-a-what-is-lao-deng-and-why
- Social Welfare Department. (n.d.). Opportunities for the Elderly Project. The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. https://www.swd.gov.hk/en/pubsvc/elderly/cat_commsupp/opportunit/
- Social Welfare Department. (2026). Old Age Living Allowance. The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. https://www.swd.gov.hk/oala/index_e.html#s2
- Stephan, W. G., & Mealy, M. D. (2011). Intergroup threat theory. In D. J. Christie (Ed.), The encyclopedia of peace psychology. Malden: Wiley-Blackwell.
- Suzuki, H. (1998). Japanese death rituals in transit: From household ancestors to beloved antecedents. Journal of Contemporary Religion, 13(2), 171–188.
- The University of Hong Kong. (n.d.). Jockey Club “Stand-by U” Caregivers Community Support Project 2.0. https://ageing.hku.hk/en/jcstandbyu-en
- Yeung, T. (2025, June 25). Investing in residential care homes for the elderly in Hong Kong. CBRE. https://www.cbre.com.hk/insights/articles/hong-kong-investing-in-residential-care-homes-for-elderly
- World Health Organization. (n.d.). Constitution of the World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/about/governance/constitution
- World Health Organization. (n.d.). WHO’s work on the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030). https://www.who.int/initiatives/decade-of-healthy-ageing
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