The vulnerability of older adults: what do census data say? An application to Uganda
Population studies
25
Issue: 2
(12 - 2011)
Older adults are generally considered as being among the most vulnerable groups
of the population. Yet, being over 55, 60 or 65 years old, does not necessarily
mean being vulnerable in any way. Older adults are stakeholders in a social sys-
tem in which they both receive and give. In Africa, where rapid population growth
and economic changes have greatly transformed livelihoods in the past century,
the social role of the older population has also undergone substantial change.
Even in a context where their power is being eroded, older adults are often
involved as providers until very late in fife. In a situation where social security for
pensioners is almost non-existent, elderly persons who need special care rely
exclusively on their children or their social networks. According to their economic
or family situation, the capability of older people to withstand difficulties is highly
variable. In this context, we define in this paper two components of the vulnera-
bility of older adults based on the structure of the household: structural and rela-
tional vulnerabilities. Then, using data from Uganda Population and Housing
Censuses of 1991 and 2002, we measure the situations of vulnerability affecting
older adults and possible changes that have taken place in this regard over the
past two decades in this country. In Uganda older men and women are about
equal in numbers. Men are less frequently in situations of vulnerability, however.
Logically, the prevalence of vulnerability among older adults increases with age,
but has not significantly changed from 1991 to 2002. Structural and relational
vulnerability affect women much more frequently than men. Disability is more
common among older adults in situations of structural vulnerability than among
others, i.e. among older adults who five alone and have children in their care,
which questions the capacity of family support systems to care for their members.
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