Does Ageing Result in A Disability? Conceptualization of Ageing and Disability by Young, Middle-Aged, and Older Adults in the Greater Accra Region

Abstract

Background: There is a dearth of knowledge on how ageing and disability is conceptualized among people, especially in Ghana and sub-Saharan Africa. Research has found that perceptions of ageing and disability vary among age groups. However, limited research exists on how these differences affect how people view and form knowledge of aging and disability. Objectives: This thesis explored the conceptualization of ageing and disability among young, middle-aged, and older adults based on subjective perception of ageing, medical, and contextual factors. The study was informed by the medical, social, and biopsychosocial models of disability and also drew from concepts of ageing. Methods: The study, guided by pragmatism, employed an exploratory sequential mixed methods research study design. The data from the qualitative study was used to develop an instrument for the quantitative study. Fourteen (14) participants for the qualitative study were purposively recruited while 175 participants were recruited for the quantitative study using systematic sampling technique. In-depth interviews and questionnaires were used for data collection during the qualitative and quantitative phases respectively. Constant comparative analysis was used for the qualitative data analysis. During the quantitative phase, Cronbach’s alpha analysis and exploratory factor analysis were used to develop scales for subjective perception of ageing, medical factors, and contextual factors. These scales were a proxy for the dependent variable. Independent samples t-test and one-way ANOVA explored the differences in the means of the socio-demographic variables and the scales, while linear regression was used to explore the relationships between the socio-demographic variables and the three scales. IBM SPSS statistics version 22 and FACTOR 12.02.01 were used for the quantitative data analysis while Atlas.ti 9 assisted in the qualitative data analysis.