Housing conditions and long-term care needs of older adults in Ghana: Evidence from the WHO SAGE Ghana Wave 1

Abstract

The present study examined the association between housing conditions and long-term care needs of older adults in Ghana. We used data from 4,920 adults aged ≥50 years that participated in the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Study on adult health and AGEing Ghana Wave 1. Housing conditions were assessed with drinking water, sanitation, cooking conditions and building materials, and long-term care needs were based on WHO Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0. Multivariable logistic regressions modelled the effect of housing conditions on long-term care needs. After full adjustment for all available potential confounders, older adults living in households with unimproved cooking conditions had higher odds of reporting long-term care needs (OR = 6.87, 95%CI: 5.04–9.37) compared to those in improved cooking condition households. Moreover, those in households with unimproved housing materials (OR = 1.27, 95%CI: 1.01–1.72) and those in unimproved sanitation households (OR = 1.26, 95%CI: 1.05–1.54) were more likely to experience long-term care needs after respectively controlling for demographic and health-related covariates. Poor housing conditions are risk factors of long-term care needs in Ghana. Efforts to improve housing conditions may benefit older age functional abilities and unmet long-term care needs.

Exploring the Intersectionality of Place and Gender Among Older Adults in Ghana: An Examination of Women’s Disability Disadvantage

“…As demonstrated, the intersectional complexity of urban residence, womanhood, older adulthood, and disability provide unique challenges to “aging in place” ( Rogers et al, 2020 ). Therefore, it is imperative that Ghana’s civic and governmental bodies promote long-term care (LTC) service provisions ( Awuviry-Newton et al, 2022a , 2022b ) to hamper the social and economic vulnerabilities that often accompany widowhood.…”

“…However, we observed that urban women are especially at risk of having difficulty moving around the home. In response, further inquiry on urban women’s mobility disadvantage, such as additional housing conditions and LTC needs ( Awuviry-Newton et al, 2022a , 2022b ), should be explored.…”

“…Previous research using SAGE Ghana data has found that women report greater rates of ADL disability than men ( Amegbor et al, 2018 ), especially those with multiple chronic conditions ( Darkwah et al, 2022 ). Older Ghanaian women also report greater care needs than their men counterparts ( Awuviry-Newton et al, 2022a , 2022b ). Gender norms in Ghana oftentimes restrict older women to household spaces where they are ascribed to domestic roles ( Braimah & Rosenberg, 2021 ); also, older Ghanaian women report discrimination and abuse more often than their men counterparts.…”

Perceived neighborhood social cohesion and functional disability among older adults: The moderating roles of sex, physical activity, and multi-morbidity

“…For example, participating in health behaviour promoting activities such as physical activity and healthy diet habits may delay the development of functional disability [ 19 , 20 ]. In Ghana, studies on associations between functional disability and other variables such as food insecurity [ 21 , 22 ], and social isolation, neighbourhood walkability and loneliness [ 23 , 24 ], physical activity [ 25 ], and long-term care [ 26 ] exist with limited understanding of how perceived neighborhood social cohesion and its measures associate with functional disability.…”