Sociological Study Of Illness Behaviour Of The Elderly People In Gombe, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Despite the growing research interest in health-related problem among the elderly people in Nigeria, not much have been done on the sociological study of illness behaviour among the elderly people in the country. Elderly persons, especially those 60 years and older, have been found to be the greatest consumer of medical resources worldwide and the majority of them suffer one ailment or another. Objectives: To determine the role of the family in the provision of medical support to the elderly people in Gombe metropolis, to determine the type of illness affecting the elderly people in Gombe metropolis and to determine the psychological consequences associated with illness affecting the elderly in Gombe metropolis. Methodology: The study was conducted in Gombe metropolis. Three hundred and eighty-six (386) elderly persons were selected from the total population of 91,139 elderly persons in the metropolis. Questionnaires were distributed to the selected respondents with the aid of the research assistants and the data obtained were analysed using SPSS version 16. Results: The age distribution showed that 43.8% of them were between 61 and 65 years and only 7.7% were aged 76 years and above. The majority (54.4%) of the elderly report illness when they don’t feel well, 72.0% of the elderly reported their illness to their spouses and 62.2% resorted to contacting physicians/Nurses whenever they are ill. Nearly half of the elderly (50.3%) did not believe they had a long-term medical condition and the major illness affecting the elderly were Diabetes mellitus (49.7%) and Hypertension (20.2%). Up to 59.6% of the elderly had financial difficulties in managing their illnesses/diseases and only 33.7% paid their medical bills themselves. Conclusion: Spouses are the major support of the elderly, and the majority of the elderly seek medical health from the hospitals when they are sick. The commonest morbidity among the elderly is Diabetes mellitus and hypertension. There is the need for provision of free health insurance coverage for the elderly in Gombe.