PLACE OF RESIDENCE AND ELDERLY HEALTH STATUS IN GHANA

ABSTRACT

The current recognition of the importance of subjective measures as a predictor of health has resulted in continued strides to refine and develop subjective measures. Subjective measures of health have become particularly important in gerontological studies given the advent of population ageing in most regions of the world. In sub-Saharan Africa, it has been documented that place of residence may influence the health status of elderly persons. This study sought to examine the relationship between place of residence and subjective health status of elderly persons. The study made use of data from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Study on Global Aging and Adult Health (SAGE) Wave 1 conducted in 2007. The study was limited to persons aged 60 years and over. The sample size was 2200. This study considered place of residence as a simple dichotomy – urban or rural and a composite subjective measure consisting of quality of life and physical assessment was used to measure elderly health status in Ghana. The chi-square test of association was used to analyse the relationship between the dependent and each of the independent variables and binary logistic regression analysis was employed to determine the predictors of elderly health status. The study identified that various sociodemographic characteristics of the elderly are significant predictors of their subjective health status. However, place of residence was found to not influence the health status of elderly persons. The mediating variables, smoking and alcohol consumption, were shown to have no influence the relationship between place of residence and health status. Of all other predictors of elderly health study were age, occupation, educational attainment and income. Health among elderly persons was improved by any occupational activity and self-employed elderly persons had the largest proportion of older persons reporting good health outcomes. Elderly persons with no more than 6 years of formal education had the highest odds of reporting good health. The odds of reporting good health diminished as income levels improved in elderly persons. An increase in age did not necessarily result in a decrease in health because the highest odds were observed in later years. For elderly persons with no formal education, the study suggested that targeted initiatives such as seminars and workshop should be tailored to equip elderly persons with the practical knowledge and skills that positively impact their health.