Housing Habitability of the Elderly in Selected Rural Communities of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined the housing habitability of the rural elderly in selected rural communities of Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling technique was used for the survey. Four of the six local government areas in the hinterlands of Ibadan (Akinyele, Egbeda, Ido and Lagelu) were randomly selected. Three rural settlements were selected from each of the selected local government areas using simple random sampling method. The settlements are: Onidundu, Ojedeji, Obada, Idioro, Owobaale, Olodan, Ajiwogbo, Odebode Elere, Odetola, Abaedun, Lalupon, and Oyedeji. The sample size was determined by a snowball sampling technique where an elderly was located and the rest were referred in the study area. A total of 265 duly completed questionnaires administered to the elderly (age 60years and above) in each sampled household were used. It was discovered in the study that the rural elderly with habitable houses are those with better annual income, occupation and educational status. The study also revealed that the higher the age of the elderly, the poorer the housing facilities available for them to utilize. This study therefore concluded that many of the houses were inhabitable for the rural elderly which is an indicator of unlivable rural communities for the elderly.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n4p545