Unmet Needs for Personal Assistance with Activities of Daily Living among the Elderly in Rural and Urban Communities in Nigeria: Determinants and Policy Implications

ABSTRACT Background: Understanding the extent of the determinants of unmet needs for assistance with activities of daily living (ADL) among the elderly is germane in formulating the right policies. Objectives: This study assessed the determinants of unmet needs for assistance with ADL among the elderly in rural and urban areas in Kwara State Central Senatorial District, Nigeria. Materials and methods: It was a cross-sectional analytical study. Data was collected, using a pre-tested semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire from 300 elderly persons using the multistage sampling technique. Data analysis was done using IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM-SPSS) version 20. The level of significance was predetermined at a p-value less than 0.05 at 95% confidence level. Results: The significant odds of having unmet needs for assistance with ADL in the rural group were amongst the unemployed (OR= 3.422 p=0.002), those with morbid conditions (OR= 2.285, p=0.032), had >4 ADL difficulty (OR= 8.167, p<0.001), had no children as carer (OR=9.205, p<0.001) or no children alive (OR=17, p=0.018, however, widowed (OR= 3.918, p