University of Gondar, Department of Social Work, Gondar, Ethiopia.
School of Social Work, Addis Ababa University, University of Johannesburg, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Health Soc Care Community. 2022 Nov;30(6):e4442-e4449. doi: 10.1111/hsc.13848. Epub 2022 May 20.
The prevalence of homelessness among older adults in Ethiopia is growing. While prior studies examined the push factors and challenges of homeless elders, little is known about how older people cope with homelessness in a context of limited ageing services. This study explored the coping strategies of homeless older people in Kobo Town, Ethiopia. Purposive sampling was used to identify 10 homeless older people and four key informants. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data collected through in-depth interviews. To cope with the challenges faced on the street, homeless older people used various strategies including begging, holy water, drying leftover food, using river water for hygiene and sanitation, sleeping in church compounds, and creating their own social networks. Despite their best efforts, elders' coping strategies could not overcome the barriers imposed by their resource-poor environment. The findings call attention to the urgent need for a national response to elders' unmet needs including an income support programme and multifaceted support services for older adults in Ethiopia.
埃塞俄比亚老年人无家可归现象日益普遍。虽然先前的研究考察了无家可归的老年人的推动因素和挑战，但对于在老龄化服务有限的情况下，老年人如何应对无家可归问题知之甚少。本研究探讨了埃塞俄比亚科博镇无家可归的老年人的应对策略。采用目的性抽样方法确定了 10 名无家可归的老年人和 4 名关键知情者。通过深入访谈收集数据，并采用主题分析方法对数据进行分析。为了应对街头面临的挑战，无家可归的老年人采用了各种策略，包括乞讨、圣 水、晾干剩余食物、用河水进行卫生和清洁、睡在教堂大院里，以及建立自己的社交网络。尽管他们尽了最大努力，但老年人的应对策略无法克服其资源匮乏环境带来的障碍。研究结果提请人们注意，迫切需要在埃塞俄比亚对老年人的未满足需求做出全国性回应，包括一项收入支持方案和多方面的老年人支持服务。
