Basic activities of daily living and associated factors among the older adults in a tertiary care center, South-East Nigeria

In Nigeria, the older adults are neglected, and much attention (if any) is not given to them in terms of their overall health and well-being, thus making them vulnerable. The process of aging is affected by a variety of factors, including family dynamics. The various changes that occur as a result of these factors increase the vulnerability of individuals to life-threatening diseases, dysfunctions, and possible death. The older population is said to constitute about 4.8% of the overall population in sub-Saharan Africa; and this is projected to rise to 7.4% by 2050. Despite this, there are no clear policies or functional social security services for the elderly. This study focused on the effect of sociodemographic characteristics and family support on the functional status (toilet use, feeding, and transfers) of the older adults. This was a hospital-based cross-sectional analytical study of 160 older individuals aged between 65 and 98 years, selected through systematic random sampling. Chi-square tests, t-tests, and logistic regression were used for analysis. There was a 100% response rate in this study. The respondents had a mean age of 76.31 ± 8.34 years for males and 76.87 ± 7.47 years for females. There was a statistically significant association between age, absence of a spouse, poor education, and functional dependence in all activities of daily living. Functional dependence in toilet use and transfers had age as the only independent risk factor, with age and marital status as the independent risk factors for functional dependence in feeding. The high level of functional decline recorded in this study portrays the wide gap in disability management in the older people between developed and developing countries and underscores the fact that an improvement in the biopsychosocial, biomedical, and economic well-being of the elderly will ameliorate the impact of decline in functional status in the activities of daily living (ADL). Integration of geriatric training at the primary care level and community-based rehabilitation in terms of social protection programs, transport services, and community support structures are advocated.