Presenter(s):

Andrew Banda; Jaco Hoffman; Vera Roos, Univerity of Zambia, Zambia

Abstract

Background: As the global population ages, efforts to ensure older people’s wellbeing and quality of life, are becoming more prominent. While rural areas worldwide face diverse and unique challenges in providing social services due to resource constraints, geographical location, and diversity in cultural and social settings, the situation is more pronounced in developing countries.

Objective: This research aims to identify individual and community-contextual level factors associated with the wellbeing of older adults (50 years and older) in rural Zambia.

Methods: Data from the nationally representative 2015 Living Conditions Monitoring Survey (LCMS) was used. Employing multilevel mixed effects, the individual and community-contextual factors on wellbeing were determined.

Results: Overall, 31.7% of rural older adults perceived their wellbeing as good. Both individual and community-contextual level factors are associated with the wellbeing of older adults in rural communities. At the individual level, wellbeing was associated with higher education attainment. Community-contextual factors significantly associated with wellbeing included improved housing, access to piped tap water within the premises, own charcoal or income to purchase firewood.

Conclusion: The findings foreground the imperative to analyse both individual and community-contextual level factors of wellbeing to generate and present evidence for investments in education across the life course and for the development of infrastructure towards increasing the wellbeing of rural older adults. Additionally, the results provide a basis for planning by devising policies and programmes for older people to thrive and for no one to be left behind regardless the setting.

Bio(s):

Andrew Banda, a demographer, Monitoring and Evaluation specialist, and Social Gerontologist, stands at the forefront as an emerging researcher on rural and adaptive ageing. He is the first graduate of the groundbreaking PhD programme on Ageing and Development from the Optentia research unit at North-West University. Andrew brings the Sub-Saharan African (SSA) context to understanding the complex intersection of ageing, well-being, and rural communities. His research focuses on identifying strategies to support and enhance the well-being of older persons in dynamic rural communities of SSA, taking into account demographic trends and social development indicators.
He currently serves as a member of the International Federation on Ageing (IFA) expert advisors for the IFA Optentia, North-West University, 17th Global Conference- YEBO/YES! Action on Ageing: Evidence | Policy | Practice as an eminent expert. Dr. Banda serves as a Lecturer and Researcher at the University of Zambia, he is also a member of several technical committees.