Regional differences in living arrangements among the elderly in Ecuador

Ethnic Disparities in Nutritional Status among Older Adults: Evidence from the Survey of Health, Welfare and Aging (SABE) Ecuador

This study aims to identify those populations that should be targeted by specific interventions. A cross-sectional design was utilized. Ordered logistic regression analysis was utilized to assess the association between ethnic identity and risk of malnutrition. Data were drawn from Ecuador's Survey of Health, Welfare and Aging (SABE). The final sample consisted of 4,572 people who were 60 years or older who were able to provide responses to the survey by themselves. Ethnic identity was categorized into four: indigenous, mestizo (Spanish and Indigenous mixed heritage), Afro-Ecuadorian/mulato, and other. Risk of malnutrition was measured using Mini Nutritional Assessment Short-Form (MNA-SF). A range of covariates were selected from three groups of factors: sociodemographic, health-related, and social network. Results revealed that the indigenous ethnicity was the only group who had significantly higher risk of malnutrition compared to mestizo even after controlling for a range of covariates including socio-economic status, health related factors, and social support. Findings suggest the existence of underlaying factors hindering the risk of malnutrition among indigenous older adults. Considering the information revealed by SABE, interventions and other strategies should be targeted and designed specifically accounting for the needs, preferences, and culture of the most vulnerable population.

Aging, health, and identity in Ecuador's indigenous communities

Middle-income countries like Ecuador are in the process of demographic and epidemiological transitions, and their populations are aging. The challenges associated with providing services to growing numbers of citizens who experience the inevitable deterioration associated with aging are mirrored by the manner in which aging is perceived in a culturally heterogeneous society. This paper presents the results of qualitative research conducted among older men and women in indigenous communities in the Ecuadorian highlands in order to investigate the perceptions regarding the ability of family and community networks to provide adequate and appropriate support for older persons in the context of their perceptions of health, health care, and aging. The principal findings are that: (i) perceptions of aging are shaped by chronic illness, fatigue, deteriorating sensory capacities, and vulnerability to accidents; (ii) barriers to health care are exacerbated among aging members of indigenous communities, although in some cases they can be addressed through traditional alternatives; (iii) the sense of identity shifts as aging people are increasingly unable to work the land and participate in community activities; and (iv) family and community support networks for older adults are not as strong as is generally thought. These findings represent the context within which issues related aging in a culturally heterogeneous society can be best understood and addressed.

Older adults in sub-Saharan Africa living with children and grandchildren

Using data from Demographic and Health Surveys, we examine the composition of households containing older adults in 24 countries of sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on those living with children and grandchildren. Overall, 59 per cent live with a child and 46 per cent with a grandchild. Men are more likely to live in nuclear households and women in extended households and alone. Regression analyses show that individual-level determinants of household composition differ by sex. For example, living with children and grandchildren is tied to living with a spouse for men, but for women the effect is either not significant or in the opposite direction. Households with an older adult and a grandchild, but no adult children, are common. Usually the adult child lives elsewhere, though about 8 per cent of older adults live with a grandchild who has at least one deceased parent. Older adults are more likely to be living with double-orphans in countries with high AIDS-related mortality.

Living arrangements of older women and men in Kuwait

The main objectives of this article are to analyze the correlates of living arrangements of persons aged 60 or above in the oil-rich, Muslim country of Kuwait and to examine whether or not patterns of co-residence differ by gender. Data were obtained from a nationally representative survey of households of Kuwaiti nationals, and this paper is based on the 687 older Kuwaiti residents of these households. Living arrangements were generally similar for women and men. Eighty nine percent of women and 94 percent of men co-reside in households with at least one son or daughter. Only 0.3 percent of men and 1.9 percent of women live alone. Socio-demographic characteristics of women and men differed significantly; 58 percent of women were widowed compared with 5 percent of men. Logistic regression analysis showed that women had two times higher odds than men of living without their children. The odds of residing without children also increased with the respondent's age and education but decreased with increasing wealth. Continued rapid demographic, socioeconomic, and cultural change in Kuwait foretells continued decline in co-residence with children, and the implications of such change in a small city-state merits further research.

Survival strategies of the elderly in Gwembe Valley, Zambia: gender, residence and kin networks

Fundamental social and material reproductive activities take place in the domestic setting, especially in subsistence societies. For the elderly in these societies, residential arrangements significantly influence their well being because of the redistribution of resources that occurs within the domestic unit. This article examines the critical issue of how the elderly of Zambia's Gwembe Valley organize their residential arrangements. The article also raises the issue of how gender influences elderly men's and women's relationships and support networks with their children and other kin. In the Gwembe Valley men and women employ different strategies in harnessing basic necessities, including their residence, which constitutes the primary setting where people negotiate their needs. Recognition of the variety and subtlety of relationships in the aging process, and the variety of individuals engaged in those relationships, allows for better understanding of the range of support systems and subsistence strategies in non-industrial settings. The analysis presented in this article emerges from the longitudinal Gwembe Tonga Research Project (GTRP) and ethnographic fieldwork carried out in three rural communities during the mid 1990s.