Author Information
Khin Zaw Aung, International Executive School, FranceHtet Phyo Aung, International Executive School, France
Roy Naipaul, International Executive School, France
Abstract
Despite the growing recognition that healthy aging is a multidimensional phenomenon shaped by social, economic, and relational conditions, very little research has examined how older adults experience and understand aging well in contexts of sustained political crisis. This study addresses that gap through qualitative inquiry in Myanmar, a setting where prolonged instability since 2021 has placed the foundations of healthy aging under considerable strain. Guided by a constructivist epistemology, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 retirees across urban and rural settings. Data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis, through which three themes were constructed: undermined psychological wellbeing, in which chronic fear and uncertainty eroded participants' sense of inner peace; threatened economic and physical security, reflecting the collapse of healthcare access and financial stability; and disrupted social roles and family bonds, capturing participants' grief over their inability to fulfill the caregiving and relational roles central to their sense of aging well. As one of the first studies to explore the lived experience of healthy aging in Myanmar's crisis context, the findings carry important implications for how humanitarian responses conceptualize and address the needs of older adults in conflict-affected settings.
Paper Information
Conference: AGen2026Stream: Aging and Gerontology
This paper is part of the AGen2026 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Aung K., Aung H., & Naipaul R. (2026) Aging Under Crisis: The Compounding Challenges of Healthy Aging in Post-coup Myanmar ISSN: 2432-4183 The Asian Conference on Aging & Gerontology 2026: Official Conference Proceedings (pp. 229-240) https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2432-4183.2026.19
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2432-4183.2026.19
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