Health Conditions and Vulnerability of the Elderly Population in Selected Communities of Plateau State, Nigeria

The world’s population is ageing faster, and most countries are experiencing a rise in the size and proportion of elderly people. The demographic shift has consequent rising burden of age-related health challenges. The study examined the health conditions and vulnerability to health risks among the elderly people in urban settings of Jos north LGA for ageing sustainable health and well-being. A snowballing identified the elderly people, where a simple random sampling assisted in the selection of 128 aged adults who responded to questionnaire interviews. SPSS version 28 aided the analysis of data using descriptive statistics, chi-square test, and logistic regression for association and odds between the socio-demographic variables and vulnerability of the elderly to health risk. Findings reveal that in all, 85.9% of elderly respondents reported health risks. Over two-quarters (68.8%) of the elderly people experienced limitations carrying out activity due to health conditions. Cost delayed medical visits for 64.8%, 36.7% restricted due to their health, and 35.9% had terminal illnesses. Access to healthcare varied with 68.0% had monthly and above visits and only 24.2% registered for the Health Insurance Scheme. Family and friends (83.6%) served as the primary health support network. Age groups, House ownership, levels of education, Monthly income, and Access to health insurance. Younger-older ages between 60-64 years, owning a house, attainment of tertiary education, Registering for Health Insurance Scheme showed significant reduced possibilities of becoming vulnerable to health risks among the elderly people in study settings. While absent at previous health visits for other reasons than solely due to cost monthly earnings between N50,001 - N100,000 had significant relations with high vulnerable to health risk. These suggest urgent need for improve healthcare access, financial security, and social support system for the elderly in study and the Nigeria at large. Key words: Ageing Population, Elderly Population, Elderly Adults, Health Conditions, Jos North LGA