TY - JOUR
T1 - Difficulty with mobility among the aged in Ghana
T2 - Evidence from Wave 2 of the World Health Organization’s Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health
AU - Boakye, Kingsley
AU - Aidoo, Antoinette Ama
AU - Aliyu, Mohammed
AU - Boateng, Daniel
AU - Nakua, Emmanuel Kweku
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Boakye et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
PY - 2024/8/1
Y1 - 2024/8/1
N2 - Background Globally, the population is rapidly ageing, stemming from a recent decline in mortality, and an increase in life expectancy. About 727 million people globally were aged ≥65 in 2020, and 1 in 6 people will be ≥65 years by 2050. About 7% of Ghana’s population was over 60 years in 2010, and projected to be 12% by 2050. However, the aged are confronted with degenerative conditions that translate into difficulty with mobility. The study was conducted to investigate the difficulty with mobility among the aged in Ghana. Methods The study utilised a cross-sectional dataset of the 2014/2015 (wave 2) Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health and included 1,856 participants aged ≥50 years. The survey command was applied to adjust for sampling biases and the design of the study. At 5% alpha level, a chi-square test of independence was conducted to determine the association between dependent and independent variables. At 95% confidence interval and 5% alpha level, three-level multilevel logistic regression models were performed. The fixed-effects were presented in odds ratio and the random effects were presented using the Intra-Class Correlation. All analysis were performed using STATA statistical software version 16.0. Results Out of the 1,856 participants, 40.3% had difficulty with mobility. Additionally, age (80 and above) [AOR = 3.05, 95%CI = 1.78–5.22], self-reported poor/bad health status [AOR = 2.39, 95%CI = 1.35–4.23], having severe/extreme difficulty performing household activities [AOR = 25.12, 95%CI = 11.49–44.91], experienced severe/extreme bodily pains [AOR = 4.56, 95%CI = 2.16–9.64], severe/extreme sleep problems [AOR = 4.15, 95%CI = 1.68–10.29], and participants with difficulty with sight/vision [AOR = 1.56, 95%CI = 1.16–2.10] had higher odds of difficulty with mobility. Conclusion The aged in Ghana had relatively higher prevalence (40.3%) of difficulty with mobility which is influenced by demographics, health status, and degeneration associated with ageing. This highlights the need to provide social support and strengthen social capital for the aged in Ghana, especially those with difficulty with vision, experiencing bodily pains and had poor health status. Additionally, the Government and stakeholders should provide assistive devices for the aged and geriatric care including recreational fields and care homes to address the health and physical needs of the aged in Ghana.
AB - Background Globally, the population is rapidly ageing, stemming from a recent decline in mortality, and an increase in life expectancy. About 727 million people globally were aged ≥65 in 2020, and 1 in 6 people will be ≥65 years by 2050. About 7% of Ghana’s population was over 60 years in 2010, and projected to be 12% by 2050. However, the aged are confronted with degenerative conditions that translate into difficulty with mobility. The study was conducted to investigate the difficulty with mobility among the aged in Ghana. Methods The study utilised a cross-sectional dataset of the 2014/2015 (wave 2) Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health and included 1,856 participants aged ≥50 years. The survey command was applied to adjust for sampling biases and the design of the study. At 5% alpha level, a chi-square test of independence was conducted to determine the association between dependent and independent variables. At 95% confidence interval and 5% alpha level, three-level multilevel logistic regression models were performed. The fixed-effects were presented in odds ratio and the random effects were presented using the Intra-Class Correlation. All analysis were performed using STATA statistical software version 16.0. Results Out of the 1,856 participants, 40.3% had difficulty with mobility. Additionally, age (80 and above) [AOR = 3.05, 95%CI = 1.78–5.22], self-reported poor/bad health status [AOR = 2.39, 95%CI = 1.35–4.23], having severe/extreme difficulty performing household activities [AOR = 25.12, 95%CI = 11.49–44.91], experienced severe/extreme bodily pains [AOR = 4.56, 95%CI = 2.16–9.64], severe/extreme sleep problems [AOR = 4.15, 95%CI = 1.68–10.29], and participants with difficulty with sight/vision [AOR = 1.56, 95%CI = 1.16–2.10] had higher odds of difficulty with mobility. Conclusion The aged in Ghana had relatively higher prevalence (40.3%) of difficulty with mobility which is influenced by demographics, health status, and degeneration associated with ageing. This highlights the need to provide social support and strengthen social capital for the aged in Ghana, especially those with difficulty with vision, experiencing bodily pains and had poor health status. Additionally, the Government and stakeholders should provide assistive devices for the aged and geriatric care including recreational fields and care homes to address the health and physical needs of the aged in Ghana.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85202454966&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0290517
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0290517
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85202454966
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 19
JO - PLoS ONE
JF - PLoS ONE
IS - 8
M1 - e0290517
ER -