Social context of ageing in Matinyani Ward, Kitui County, Kenya

Abstract

The number of people over 60 years is on rise across the globe. As the aged population increases, so are the concerns that accompany old age care. Aging occurs within the context of family, community and society and these have been documented in the West, Asia, Africa and parts of Kenya. Empirical studies in Kenya and Kitui County indicate that socio-economic concerns, challenges and support mechanisms are key aspects of aging context. However, research and discourse has not explored the social context of aging in Matinyani Ward, but have looked at perceptions of aging and factors influencing life of the aged persons. Consequently, this study sought to investigate the socio-context of aging in the study area. The specific objectives of this study were to: assess the socio-economic concerns among the aged; identify the challenges faced by the aged population; and, to evaluate the social support mechanisms for the aging population. The research was guided by Cummings and Henry’s (1961) disengagement theory. The study adopted a concurrent mixed research design which lends itself to qualitative and quantitative research methods. The study population was 3,444 with a sample size of 189 comprising 105 women and 84 men, where 29 key informants were purposively sampled and 160 respondents were determined using Kothari (2004) formula. Quantitative data were analyzed with Statistical Packages for Social Science (SPSS) version 26 to generate descriptive statistics in frequencies and percentages which were presented in tables and charts. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically and presented in form of narratives and verbatim reports. Findings on the study indicated that gender, family, age, religion, education and income level social economic factors influenced the lives of the aged in rural areas. Challenges like dependency (93.8%), poor health (83%), abuse (81.3%), and neglect (50.6%) affected the lives of the aged. Further, the study noted that family and relatives were major source of support for the aged, at 62.5% of the respondents while the government, NGOs and churches contributed by 18.75%, 12.5% and 6.25% respectively. The study recommends setting up of an updated register for the aged persons. Secondly, proper social support policies should be set up to support the aged persons. Further studies need to be done on the life experiences of aged women living and taking care of their grandchildren.