AGEING IN CONTEMPORARY GHANA: A CASE STUDY OF THE AWUTU BREKU DISTRICT

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ABSTRACT

Ageing in contemporary Ghana is not only an interesting research area but necessarily resonates with every human being. This is particularly so because ageing is a universal, inevitable and observable human occurrence. The concept of ageing and its dynamics react to changing circumstances in society. Research points to the fact that changing demographics impact on socio-economic situations and necessarily on different classes of society including the aged. International and national statistics portray an increasing proportion of the aged globally and Ghana in particular. Existing literature have examined various aspects of the subject matter. However, they hardly considered the multifaceted needs of older Ghanaians by examining the impact of social change especially on family structure on care giving patterns and the resultant changes in the lives of the elderly. This study, therefore, sought to fill this gap by exploring and documenting the lived- experiences, factors that enhanced sense of belonging and the support systems for the aged. In general, the study focused on identifying the challenges associated with ageing in contemporary Ghana. For practical purposes, a case study method was adopted to unearth the objectives of the study in Awutu Breku District of the Central Region of Ghana. Among other key findings, the study confirmed an increasing population of the aged, weakened informal support system and a limited formal support system, evidencing a gap in elderly welfare in Ghana. The data revealed that people understood ageing from biological, social and psychological perspectives. On the issue of sense of belonging of the aged, it was confirmed that the aged who maintained attachment with their families, participated in their community activities and belonged to other associations had a better sense of belonging compared with their colleagues who did not. The study sets a good foundation for examining the multifaceted needs of older Ghanaians within the context of social change.