A Case Study of the Awutu Breku District by Vida
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
UNIVERSITY OF GHANA AGEING IN CONTEMPORARY GHANA: A CASE STUDY OF THE AWUTU BREKU DISTRICT BY VIDA YAMOAH SAA (10206299) A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON, IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY DEGREE IN SOCIOLOGY JUNE, 2018 DECLARATION I declare that this work is an original work done by me under the supervision of Dr Peace Mamle Tetteh and Dr Fidelia N. A. Ohemeng. All references used in this study have been fully acknowledged. ……………………………. …………………… VIDA YAMOAH SAA DATE (STUDENT) ……………………………. …………………… PEACE MAMLE TETTEH (PHD) DATE (PRINCIPAL SUPERVISOR) ……………………………. …………………… FIDELIA N. A. OHEMENG (PHD) DATE (CO-SUPERVISOR) i DEDICATION To my family, Obaaku, Collins, Douglass, Joyce, George and Owura. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest appreciation to all those who have contributed to making this research a reality. First and foremost, I have to thank my supervisors, Dr. Peace Mamle Tetteh and Dr. Fidelia N. A. Ohemeng. Without their assistance and dedicated involvement in every step of the process, this thesis would not have been accomplished. I would like to thank you very much for your support, guidance, supervision and understanding over these past few months. I would also like to show my gratitude to Dr Opoku Mensah- Abrampa for the consistent and unabated support and guidance he offered to me throughout this period. I am forever grateful for this immense help. Without his key intervention, there would have been a huge gap. Furthermore, I would like to acknowledge my friends Vitus, Douglas, Genevive, Afia, Obaaku, George, Ken, Irene and all my research respondents as well as my course mates for the key and pivotal role they played throughout the duration of this programme. Finally, I would like to thank the Almighty God for gracing me with the gift of healthy life throughout the period. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents Page DECLARATION...................................................................................................................... 1 DEDICATION.......................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................... iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................ v LIST OF TABLES & FIGURES ........................................................................................... ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................. 2 ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................. ii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................... 1 1.0 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Problem statement ....................................................................................................... 4 1.2 Research Questions ..................................................................................................... 7 1.3 Objectives of the study ................................................................................................ 7 1.4 Significance of the study ............................................................................................. 8 1.5 Definition of Key Concepts......................................................................................... 9 1.5.1 Concept of Modernity .............................................................................................. 9 1.5.2 Family ...................................................................................................................... 9 1.6 Organization of the study .......................................................................................... 10 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................... 12 2.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 12 2.1 Definition of Ageing ................................................................................................. 13 2.2 Classifications of the Aged. ...................................................................................... 15 2.3 Perceptions about the Aged ....................................................................................... 17 2.4 Ageing from Societal Perspective ............................................................................. 19 v 2.5 Ageing and Gender.................................................................................................... 23 2.6 Formal and Informal Support for the Aged ............................................................... 25 2.6.1 Informal Support Systems ..................................................................................... 26 2.6.2 Formal Support Systems ........................................................................................ 28 2.7 Other support systems ............................................................................................... 35 2.8 Review of Ghana‟s National Ageing Policy ............................................................. 37 2.9 Implementation of Ghana‟s Ageing policy ............................................................... 41 2.10 Reflections on the Literature ..................................................................................... 43 2.11 Theoretical perspectives ............................................................................................... 44 2.11.1 The Social Capital Theory...................................................................................... 46 CHAPTER THREE: PROFILE OF AWUTU SENYA DISTRICT ................................. 48 3.0 Location, Size and Population ................................................................................... 48 3.1 Physical Characteristics............................................................................................. 50 3.1.1 Infrastructure ......................................................................................................... 51 3.2 Education and Health ................................................................................................ 51 3.3 Economic Condition ....................................................................................................... 52 3.4 Security and law enforcement ................................................................................... 53 3.5 Religion ..................................................................................................................... 53 CHAPTER FOUR: METHODOLOGY .............................................................................. 55 4.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 55 4.1 The choice of Study Area .......................................................................................... 55 4.2 Research Design ............................................................................................................. 56 4.3 The Study Method ..................................................................................................... 56 4.4 Population.................................................................................................................. 57 4.5 Sample Size ............................................................................................................... 58 vi 4.6 Sampling Procedure .................................................................................................. 58 4.7 Sources of Data ......................................................................................................... 59 4.8 Data Collection Instrument ....................................................................................... 59 4.9 Interview procedure................................................................................................... 60 4.10 Data Management, Analysis, and Processing ........................................................... 60 4.11 Limitations of the Study ............................................................................................ 61 4.12 Ethical considerations ............................................................................................... 61 4.13 Reflexive Assessment of the Research Process ........................................................ 63 CHAPTER FIVE: DATA ANALYSES AND INTERPRETATION ................................ 65 5.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 65 5.1 Socio-Demographic Information of participants. ........................................................... 65 5.2 Conceptualising the Concept of Ageing.................................................................... 66 5.2.1 The Discourse of Decline ...................................................................................... 67 5.2.2 Ageing wisdom and experience ............................................................................. 70 5.2.3 Social construction of Ageing ..............................................................................