Abstract
This study investigates how financial services inclusion (FSI) may affect food insecurity among older Ghanaians and seeks to identify any modifying roles of age and gender in the associations. Data were analyzed for 1,200 adults aged 50+ years. Generalized linear models with a logit link function examined associations and interaction terms. Average FSI score was 1.9 (SD = 1.8), and the prevalence of hunger and breakfast skipping were 35.6% (95% confidence interval [CI]: [32.9%, 38.4%]) and 28.8% (95% CI: [26.3%, 31.5%]) respectively. After full adjustment for potential confounders, FSI was associated with 0.459 (95% CI: [0.334, 0.629]) and 0.599 (95% CI: [0.434, 0.827]) times lower odds for hunger and breakfast skipping respectively. However, the corresponding interactions were statistically insignificant. The findings indicate the potentially important role of FSI in reducing food insecurity in later life. Development of policies to empower older people economically through increased financial literacy and easier access to financial services may help actualize the Sustainable Development Goal 2.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 189-200 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Journal of Applied Gerontology |
Volume | 40 |
Issue number | 2 |
Early online date | 26 Feb 2020 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Feb 2021 |
Funding
This work was supported by Lingnan University, Hong Kong (RPG1129310). The funders, however, played no role in designing the study, collecting and analyzing data, manuscript preparation, and the decision to publish the manuscript.
Keywords
- Sustainable Development Goals
- financial literacy
- financial services inclusion
- food insecurity
- health policy
- older people