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Rural Communities in CESW Africa and Latin America: Contexts for Well-being of Older Adults

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Abstract

The UN Decade of Healthy Ageing urges communities to create environments that support older adults. Yet rural communities may be overlooked and have limited capacity to be supportive. A scoping review was undertaken to determine the state of knowledge of elements of rural communities influencing well-being of older adults in CESW Africa and Latin America. Thematic analysis highlighted three community domains: local environments, community relationships and cultural identity. Findings highlight communities’ limited control over external services, infrastructure and formal partnerships that influence well-being of older people. Community capacity to support older persons must be evaluated in light of these constraints.

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Acknowledgements

We thank our research assistant Araceli Cruz for her contribution in the Latin American searches. We would also like to thank the Global Social Issues in Ageing group of the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics for funding this research.

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  1. Optentia Research Unit, North-West University, Vanderbijlpark Campus, Potchefstroom, South Africa

    Nereide A. Curreri, Andrew Banda, Jaco Hoffman & Norah Keating

  2. Universidad de San Martín de Porres, Santa Anita, Perú

    Jose F. Parodi

  3. Swansea University, Swansea, UK

    Norah Keating

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  1. Nereide A. Curreri
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We use Central, East, Southern and West (CESW) Africa as opposed to sub-Saharan Africa which is increasingly viewed as a problematic binary and is not a category recognised by the African Union.

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Curreri, N.A., Banda, A., Parodi, J.F. et al. Rural Communities in CESW Africa and Latin America: Contexts for Well-being of Older Adults. Population Ageing 15, 1017–1034 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12062-022-09398-y

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