RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LIFE STYLE AND HEALTH STATUS OF RETIRED CIVIL SERVANT IN KATSINA STATE, NIGERIA
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Retirement is the total withdraw of a worker’s services from an organization after putting in some specified number of years or having attained the specified retirement age (Yantumaki, 2005). Akinde, (2003) defines retirement as a final stage of life when one leaves an occupation which are had to been involved in for a considerable length of individual’s working life. The individual’s service years are significantly related to his health status. Health status according (WHO, 2012) is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living organism. It is the ability of individuals to adapt and self manage when facing physical, mental or social challenges or health in its broader sense. Health status of the retired can be said to be fragile due to their advanced age. There are a lot of diseases which manifest with the setting of old age such as hypertension, diabetes, rheumatism, sight failure etc. Mostly people of advanced age who enjoy these conditions are the educated or literate persons who may have regular income on retirement whose children are gainfully engaged in income generating ventures and are taking proper care of them.
Retirement is life course transition in late adult life that marked by major changes that may affect healthy lifestyle (Lahti, 2011). The absence of work activities and restrictions affect daily routine and time availability. Moreover, retirement is often accompanied by changes in identity and changes in social contacts and social activities. Also retirement may lead to a decrease income. Due to all these changes, retirees, priorities, way of life and healthy lifestyles are likely to change as well. Chung (2009) retirement may affect healthy lifestyle changes through several mechanisms, as increase leisure time and loss of restrictions, changing social
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contacts, stress, and reorientation on health. The circumstances surrounding the retirement may influence these changes, especially if retirees frame their retirement as voluntary or not. Adopting a healthy lifestyle is by no means easy at older age. Supporting the adoption of a healthy lifestyle at the right moment is therefore an important public health issue.
Lifestyle and consumption pattern could be said to be direct although consumption pattern depict lifestyle functionally, one‟s lifestyle determines his/her consumption pattern are down sealed to become commensurate with her/his reduce income. If a retired persons assumes life of reduce perhaps afflicted by disability and restrictive disease, his/her resources are geared more to drugs, special diet, clothing and home conditioning. Definitely the pattern of feeding and home living of middle age (adult) differs from those of elderly persons of 60 years above in terms of exclusion of hobbies, energetic sports, maintenance of active sexual roles.
An individual‟s health depends alot on their lifestyle. Maintaining physical and mental health is crucial to an individual‟s longevity. The more time spent on hygiene, physical fitness, and diet regulation, the healthier lifestyle they have. Those who choose to participate in any kind of physical activity on weekly basis are generally healthier than those who don‟t. Mental illness may occur through various ways for example, depression may promote mental illness through stress and anxiety, poor habit eating not promoting good physical health. Poor habits may eventually lead to a poor or even dangerous life style. More interestingly, a healthy or unhealthy lifestyle will most likely be transmitted across generations.
United States (Administration on aging and retirement, 2005), changes in body composition, reduction in physical activity, and physiological factors affect the dietary requirements of retired Bozetti (2003). As people age, body fat increase and lean body mass decreases, which reduces protein reserves in the body. The predisposition of older individuals to
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chronic pain or unless also may limit physical activity reduced physical activity and decrease in lean body, mass lower energy needs older adult. Consume fever calorie than young adults to obtain adequate protein and micro nutrients reduced energy needs, Bozettic (2003) retired especially those in low income groups, are at a high risk for nutritional deficiencies due to poor diet and low nutrients intake.
The life of the retired civil servant determined by part of their health status, because how active is any particular way a retired person depends on the extent to which he/she is healthy or affected with degenerative disease or is disabled. (Peter, 2009). Lifestyle of rigorous activation or continuous productivity or employment is relatively continuous to socialize extensively or not is determined by disability, and his/her movements and constraints. And if the retired person is affected with a socially disapproved ailment such as HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis she/he will be variously eliminated. A retired person can be observed in the sense that lifestyle is determined by health status, can also be determined by the lifestyle. This can be so, where a retired person persist in life of gambling, drug, influence or drunkenness (what hausa traditionally call “Tsohon bariki”) generally gallivanting and there are chances that his health status will be exposed to risk or sexually transmitted disease (STDS) hypertension, diabetes (Kempman, 1990).
The lack of provision of retired civil servants care in Nigeria requires the family to provide the need for the survival of the retired people family members provide food, shelter, clothing drugs and other basic necessities. Children now play the most important role of providing economic security in old age older parents lives in their adult children homes and receive care. On the other hand they support their children in taking care of their grandchildren. When they live in their own homes, grandchildren or other relatives often live with them to give support such as washing clothes, running errands, cooking meals and taking general care of the
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retired civil servant people environments the decline in the economy, gradual disintegration of the extended family system, unemployment, his or her autonomy the nature and type institutional for the retired civil servants varies from place to place. The following are globally identified, family care homes the small group homes and Medicare nursing support home (Cotton and Bassey, 2008).
Awiosika (2009), had observed that, the extended family system, the lack of adequate social welfare programme for the retired civil servants, huge financial deficit, resulting from poor administration of retirement benefits informed the Reform Act of 2004 by the Obasanjo led administration (Aderinokun & Adoba, 2004, National Pension Commission, 2008). The reform is with the intent of ensuring that every person who has worked in either the public or private sectors receives his or her retirement benefit as in when due, so as to be able to continue life with ease, maintaining good health status and better lifestyle. Alas, this is not always the case. Retirement in most cases is always met with varying degree of difficulty, resulting in adverse degradation in lifestyle and health status. Bozzetti (2003), retirees especially those in low income groups, are at a high risk for nutritional deficiencies due to poor diet quality and low nutrient intake. Cole and Fox (2004), most individual‟s working class or non-working class are financially dependent upon their siblings or retirement savings, pension or social security. These funds are often limited or not at all for the non-working class retired people and cannot afford to purchase healthy foods, which are often more costly than unhealthy options. Consequently, many retirees are forced to purchase cheaper foods which often are higher in fat, cholesterol, and sugar.
In Nigeria today, social security policies for retired are yet to be formulated. But there is an increasing need in the wake of the apparent decline in the adequacy of material family support that has occurred in recent times and the rising deprivation and poverty of which growing
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number of retired people are exposed. Aboderin (2006), the lack of social security system for retired people accelerate the process of aging. The nation that interment in one‟s children serves as social security in old age is now disputed as adult find it difficult securing employment and receiving an income sufficient to meet their immediate needs. The contributory pension scheme (insurance) that was recently reformed does not cover many retired people. The pension scheme is mainly designed for those who work(ed) in the formal sector, the scheme bedeviled with a lot of problems is yet to make appreciable impact on the lives of retired people. Old age brings with it reduced capacity for work as well as difficulties in accessing health care and other essential services, increasing the like hold of old persons becoming and remaining poor (Ajomale 2004). The lack of social persons has serious consequences on the well- being of the retired people who cannot earn an income and are not covered by the contributory pension scheme are left at the mercy of the vagaries of life social pensions reduce old age poverty and support households. Social pension development aid to the poorest and contribute significantly to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGS).
Consequently, workers often ask whether they would ever have financial security after retirement. What is the fate of their children and other household after retirement? Does life after retirement means signing bond with poverty? These questions among others occupied the minds of workers in Nigeria (Katsina state inclusive) and could be responsible for workers negative attitude towards retirement, low commitment to work as well as high labour turnover. This study is therefore set to investigate the relationship between life style and health status of retired civil servant in Katsina state, Nigeria.
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1.2 Statement of the Problem
The problem of the retired civil servants in the society is supposed to be a tropical issue, especially in Katsina state, Nigeria. This is so because in the problems of poverty, illiteracy, ignorance and corruption, afflicts almost all segments of the society, but most biting to the retired population (Kasim, 2007).
In any given society the retirees is referred to, or perceived as „senior citizen‟ previewed experience in life on which the younger population are supposed to draw for aspiration, motivation and orientation. Yet this is very important segment of the population could be said to be among the weak and vulnerable population in our society almost in the same category with children, orphans and the disabled. This is because of the various problems that the retirees face and in the society particularly with regards to lifestyle.
Socioeconomic status affects overall human functioning, including their physical and mental health e.g. when retired. Income and access to resources mitigate a social problem that ultimately affects retirees, retired people in Nigeria this category remain among te most economically vulnerable groups, the majority of retired do not work or have fewer options for continued income in Katsina state. They are at risk for rising costs of living, which may place them at an economic disadvantage (social security administration, 2006).
Recent studies indicated that the quality of care afforded to retired adults with medicate condition is substandard in Katsina state (Adamu, 2004). Furthermore, older people who work are less likely to maintain employment as their health declines.
Psychological health and wellbeing of the retired in Katsina state, the researcher observed that poverty is the risk factor for declines in mental health among the retirees. Those at
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the lower levels of socioeconomic status are often most afflicted with psychological disorder.
Poverty affects the health of the retired in significant ways. Some of the retired in Katsina were simply unable to afford. The basics of minimal health care and prescription drugs e.g. the urban retirees. It is not unusual to find this group skipping on their prescriptions, skipping days or cutting the dosage. They may even share prescription drugs with others or take medication that is out of date and therefore ineffective or potentially dangerous. All this amount to drug abuse which is dangerous to their failing health.
Social activities of the retirees are somehow affected when they are unable to afford simple care, e.g. eyeglasses or hearing aids. They are unable to afford simple care, e.g. eyeglasses or hearing aids. They begin to isolate themselves and feel cutoff from the life around them. Many cannot afford simple nutritious food/ three square meal in aday. They prepare to buy the cheapest. Many retirees died of heat exhaustion had no access to air conditioning and were too afraid to open their windows fearing intruders. They died in their sealed apartments; they heat their rooms often using dangerous methods such as firewood and charcoal.
Some retired in Katsina cannot afford even the simple pleasures of social interaction or entertainment. Combine this with physical limitation, health problems like hypertension, diabetes, body pains, arthritis etc. and unsafe community or neighborhoods.
Kamala (2007) indicates that the retired people in the society suffered from ill health and are not properly taking care of by their children or the society. Also within Katsina state the retired are mostly seen by the researcher begging for assistance on the streets, places where they
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work before. This prompted the researcher to look into the type of care and welfare given to the retired in Katsina state.
Thus majority of the retiree‟s population do not get their benefits on time. Most of them rely on the active members of the family for support, particularly their children if they have any. Where income earning children of this group could not meet their demands they depend on good will of relatives and good samaritans in the community/society. This is why a lot of them are compelled to live a life of begging in one form or the other. In this situation the mode of their life style changes and involves them in socially disapproved behaviours. Similarly, retired health status can also be determined by the lifestyle where there is change in health status there is possibility of being unhealthy, disability due to disease like hypertension and depression. Most of the retired were facing problem with their general health due to lack of good nutritional food intake, especially those who reside in rural areas. The retired people experience financial hardships following retirement, therefore finding it difficult to care for themselves, eat good food and healthy life, from there the situation worsened (Salim, 2002). It is as a result of the above disturbing issues that the researcher was worried to investigate the relationship between life style and health status of retired civil servants in Katsina State, Nigeria
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The major objective of the study is to examine the relationship between lifestyle and health status of retired civil servants in Katsina State. The Specific Objectives of the Study are to;
- determine the relationship between the health status and food consumption patterns of retired civil servants in Katsina State.
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- determine the relationship between the lifestyle and income of retired civil servants in Katsina State.
- identify the social network that exists for enhancing lifestyle and health status of the retired civil servant in Katsina State.
- determine the care given by the relations of the retired civil servants and his/her lifestyle in Katsina State.
1.4 Research Questions
- What is the relationship between health status and food consumption patterns of retired civil servants in Katsina State?
- What is the relationship between lifestyle and income of retired civil servants in Katsina State?
- What is the relationship between social network that exists for enhancing lifestyle and health status of the retired civil servant in Katsina State.
- What is the relationship between the care given by the relations of the retired civil servants and his/her lifestyle in Katsina State?
1.5 Hypotheses
- There is no significant relationship between the health status and food consumption patterns of retired civil servants in Katsina State.
- There is no significant relationship between lifestyle and income of retired civil servants in Katsina State.
- There is no significant relationship between social network that exists for enhancing lifestyle and health status of the retired civil servant in Katsina State.
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- There is no significant relationship between the care given by the relations of the retired civil servants and his/her lifestyle in Katsina State.
1.3 Significance of the study
This study is going to be of benefit to policy makers, civil society, general public, scholar, academicians and Home economist.
The study will enlighten policy makers, based on facts and what need to be done with regards to retired civil servants lifestyle and health status in Katsina State and this could be achieved publications and seminars. For civil society the study will help and provide information on how to save judiciously and prepare for their retirement and this could be achieved through awareness campaign during and after their services.
To the general public, the study would provide general information on how retired civil servants strive to make ends meet and such information that would facilitate information sharing and discharge, and the general public would have access to this findings through radio and other media publicities. For Scholars, academicians and Home economist, this study would serve as an avenue or source of information which would aid further studies and it would be available for the academicians and scholars in school libraries.
1.6 Basic Assumption
There are several assumptions underlying this study, it was assumed that unobservable concepts such as individual expectations of lifestyle, and health status of retired civil servants would be qualified and measured by the instrument. It is assumed that the retired civil servants have expectations for good lifestyle and good health status. The researcher assumed that the individual retired civil servants would provide truthful and accurate answer to the questions measuring the concepts of interest in this study.
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1.7 Delimitation
The research work was delimited to lifestyle (nutrition) and health status (depression, diabetes, hypertension and cancer) of the retired civil servants population in Katsina State. The study was also delimited to food consumption patterns of retirees in Katsina state. The study was also delimited to the three senatorial zones of Katsina States. The study was be delimited to both male and female retired civil servants.