Official documents and data from a 10-month field study are used to examine caregiving practices for sick and elderly people at home in the north China city of Tianjin. Using the research site of the family sickbed, 17 sample families were obtained from a general hospital and a senior cadre's sanatorium. The paper describes the development of the family sickbed in China and in Tianjin, and summarizes family caregiving practices by spouse-caregivers, adult children and relatives, neighbors and friends. Care support from work units is also described. Implications of changes in home caregiving in the future are discussed.
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