‘We are left behind to suffer’: examining the lived experiences of left-behind older adults in the Upper West Region of Ghana

ABSTRACT

Using semi-structured interviews and sharing circles, this study explores the everyday experiences of older people left behind in Ghana’s Upper West Region. A thematic analytical technique was used to analyse the data. Seven key themes emerged: access to social support; caregiving burden; abuse and discrimination; ill health; increased dependence on available institutional support programs; and personal coping strategies. Our findings suggest that the absence of adult children negatively affects older people left behind. We recommend more social welfare programs and a retooling of current social protection programs to meet the complex and evolving needs of older adults left behind.

KEYWORDS:

• Upper West Region
• Ghana
• migration
• older adults
• ecological systems theory

Acknowledgments

We want to thank the Research Assistants and community leaders in Ghana for helping with the data collection. We also say a big thank you to our research participants for sharing their experiences with us. To our reviewers, thank you for agreeing to review this manuscript. Finally, we are grateful to the Canada Research Chairs program (Aging, Health and Development) and the Dean of Graduate Studies, Queen’s University, for the financial support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Joseph Asumah Braimah

Joseph Asumah Braimah Dr. is a University of Toronto Scarborough Inclusive Excellence Postdoctoral Fellow with the Department of Health & Society. Dr. Braimah has research interest in aging and health, health care access, and food security.

Mark W. Rosenberg

Mark W. Rosenberg Dr. is a Professor and a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Aging, Health and Development in the Department of Geography and Planning at Queen’s University. Dr. Rosenberg’s broad area of research is health geography. Specifically, his research examines changing demographic, socio-economic, and geographic characteristics of various groups within the Canadian population and beyond. He frequently serves as an expert reviewer, consultant, and advisor to the government of Canada and several agencies in Canada and Europe.

Vincent Z. Kuuire

Vincent Z. Kuuire Dr. is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Geography, Geomatics and Environment, University of Toronto, Mississauga. Dr. Kuuire is a human geographer with research interest in migration, transnationalism and integration, environment and health, and health care access. He is a Canada Research Chair in Immigrant Well-being and Global Health.