A critical review of intervention and policy effects on the health of older people in sub-Saharan Africa

Peter Lloyd-Sherlock*, Mary Amoakoh-Coleman

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper provides a critical review of publications containing information about specific health effects on older adults of interventions and policies in sub-Saharan Africa. Interventions and policies fell into the following categories: testing or treating HIV, the provision of pensions, screening for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), health service financing and interventions related to visual conditions. The review finds that the relevant literature is very limited relative to the size of older populations in the region. Conditions of particular relevance to older adults, such as NCDs, are under-represented and most studies treat older people as a single category, typically including all adults aged 50 and over. The paper concludes that evidence about the health effects of interventions and policies on the region's rapidly growing older populations remains minimal, and that this both reflects and reinforces a bias against older people in health policy.

Original languageEnglish
Article number112887
Pages (from-to)1-8
Number of pages8
JournalSocial Science and Medicine
Volume250
Early online date27 Feb 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Apr 2020
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Interventions
  • Older people
  • Policies
  • Review
  • Sub-Saharan africa

Cite this