African Health and Ageing Research Centre, Winneba, Central Region, Ghana.
Department of Sociology and Social Work, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
PLoS One. 2022 Feb 15;17(2):e0263965. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263965. eCollection 2022.
Given the longevity noticed among older people in Ghana, and the potential occurrence of functional disability in later years of life, it has become essential to understand their care needs. This study examined the care needs in daily tasks and associated factors in Ghana, following the World Health Organisation International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health framework.
A cross-sectional survey was conducted among a sample of 400 older people from Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Southern Ghana. Care need was assessed by one question; "Do you regularly need help with daily tasks because of long-term illness, disability, or frailty?" Multivariate logistic regression was used to test the association between care need and independent variables based on the WHO-ICF conceptual framework.
Majority of the sample (81%), particularly women (54%) reported needing care in daily tasks. Per the WHO-ICF conceptual framework, functional disability-activity variable, (OR = 1.07 95%CI: 1.05-1.09, p<0.001), and absence of government support-an environmental factor, (OR = 3.96 95%CI: 1.90-8.25, p<0.001) were associated with care need.
The high prevalence of care needs among older people may offer an indication that majority of older people in Ghana could benefit from long-term care services. Functional disability and the absence of government support are the major issues that need to be prioritised in addressing the increased demand for care related to performing daily tasks among older people in Ghana.
鉴于加纳老年人的长寿以及他们在晚年可能出现的功能障碍，了解他们的护理需求变得至关重要。本研究根据世界卫生组织国际功能、残疾和健康分类框架，考察了加纳老年人在日常任务中的护理需求及其相关因素。
在加纳南部科姆福·阿诺克耶教学医院的 400 名老年人样本中进行了横断面调查。通过一个问题评估护理需求：“由于长期患病、残疾或虚弱，您是否经常需要帮助完成日常任务？”根据世界卫生组织-国际功能、残疾和健康分类框架，使用多变量逻辑回归测试护理需求与独立变量之间的关联。
大多数样本（81%），尤其是女性（54%）报告需要在日常任务中得到照顾。根据世界卫生组织-国际功能、残疾和健康分类框架，功能障碍-活动变量（OR=1.07，95%CI：1.05-1.09，p<0.001）和缺乏政府支持-环境因素（OR=3.96，95%CI：1.90-8.25，p<0.001）与护理需求相关。
老年人对护理的高需求可能表明，加纳的大多数老年人可能受益于长期护理服务。功能障碍和缺乏政府支持是加纳解决老年人日常任务护理需求增加的主要问题，需要优先考虑。
