Determinants of the Elderly’s Social Protection Services Access in Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania

Inaccessibility to Social Protection Services (SPSs) is a major concern for the majority of the elderly on the globe and developing countries, including Tanzania. This paper establishes the extent to which the elderly have access to SPSs and determines the factors that influence SPSs access to the elderly. A cross-sectional research design was used whereby 202 respondents aged 60 years and above were involved. Data were analysed using Ordinal Logistic Regression and content analysis for quantitative and qualitative data respectively. The indicators based on protective, preventive, promotive, and transformative dimensions were established to measure SPSs access levels among the elderly. The elderly in the study area were categorized at medium level of SPSs accessibility (87.1%). Ordinal logistic regression analysis results showed that SPSs access to the elderly’s and their awareness on policy and rights, health insurance, and financial assistance were the important determinant factors that influence SPSs access to the elderly in the study area. The study recommends to the Government and Civil Society Organizations to devise intervention mechanisms for the elderly including the provision of health insurance services, cash transfers (universal pension), and enactment of law(s) that promote the elderly’s welfare and eventually improve the delivery of SPSs in Tanzania