INCLUSIVE ACCESS TO EFFICIENT HEALTH CARE AND SUSTAINABLE INCOME AMONG THE AGED POPULATION IN NIGERIA: PROBING THE CORE ROLE OF SOCIAL SECURITY IN PROMOTING LIFE EXPECTANCY

Abstract

Social security has been a big challenge facing Nigeria as a democratic society, especially among the aged population. So far, there is a dearth of scholarly inquiries on inclusive health care, particularly with a focus on the possible role of care homes in offering quality health care service to the aged population – retired federal, state, local governments and private individuals. This research gap informed the desire to carry out this review work. This study, therefore, aims at investigating the role of care homes in providing quality and social welfare for the aged and elderly groups in the Nigerian society. The study adopted ex post facto design. It is anchored on the social assistance theory. The study revealed that most of the aged population in Nigeria is at risk of social service – deterioration of health, poor feeding, challenges of family dynamics, increased demand for medical services, decreased functional independence, government neglect, absence of an effective national health policy and increased economic stress among others. Based on the findings, the study recommends among others, that government, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and private individuals should provide effective care homes for the vulnerable aged in the rural, urban and city centres across the states in Nigeria, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. They should also employ competent health personnel, care givers and social workers to can man(age) the care homes effectively for optimum inclusive health development in Nigeria.