Perceived social support and associated factors among older people living in metropolitan cities of northwest Ethiopia: A community-based cross-sectional study

by Habtamu Sewunet Mekonnen, Abere Woretaw Azagew, Chilot Kassa Mekonnen, Hailemichael Kindie Abate, Yohannes Mulu Ferede, Mohammed Hassen Salih, Nigusie Birhan Tebeje

Perceived social support is a complex construct that includes tangible and supportive feedback in addition to emotional, instrumental, appraisal, and informational support. Social support shields older adults from the negative effects of aging, such as illness and death, as well as the negative outcomes of stressful life events. The purpose of this study was to assess the perceived social support and associated factors among older people residing in metropolitan cities in northwest Ethiopia, as there is a dearth of evidence regarding this topic, particularly in the study area.

A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out between December 19, 2020, and February 21, 2021. The systematic random sampling technique was used to select 830 study participants. Data collected using an interviewer administered questionnaire was entered using Epi-data version 4.6 and analyzed using Stata version 14. Both bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were done. In the multivariate analysis, variables with P-value <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval was used to determine the strength and direction of the association.

A total of 816 participants were included with a 98.3% response rate. The mean age of participants was 68.2 (SD±7.2) years. In the current study, 339 (41.54%) of participants had low perceived social support. Having four and above children (AOR = 1.71, 95% CI = 1.10, 2.66), likely to have a severe mental illness (AOR = 0.33, 95% CI = 0.16, 0.68), medium and high sense of coherence (AOR = 1.79, 95%CI = 1.05, 3.06) and 2.86 (AOR = 2.86, 95%CI = 1.44, 5.67), respectively, middle, fourth, and highest quantiles of wealth index (AOR = 1.97, 95%CI = 1.07, 3.60), 3.64 (AOR = 3.60, 95%CI = 1.91, 6.94), and 5.82 (AOR = 5.82, 95%CI = 2.90, 11.71),. Having no social service participation (AOR = 2.12, 95%CI = 1.06, 9.50) were significantly associated with low perceived social support.

In this study more than two-fifth of older people have low perceived social support. Number of children, mental health, sense of coherence, wealth index, and participation in social services were had a significant association with the perceived social support of older people. In order for these vulnerable populations to age healthily, alternative forms of support should be provided as the societal culture supporting the elderly has declined. Particularly, emphasis should be given for older people with mental health problems and those having no social service participation. Besides, further research is crucial targeting the actual social support of the elderly people including those living in the street, temporal residents, and religious places.