The correlates of substance use among older adults in Ghana during the COVID-19 pandemic

# Background Evidence suggests that substance use remains one of the negative consequences of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic among older adults. However, not much is known about the prevalence and associated factors of substance use during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana. # Methods Using data fr...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Prince Peprah (Author), Francis Arthur-Holmes (Author), Williams Agyemang-Duah (Author), Shadrack O. Frimpong (Author), Akwasi A. Gyimah (Author), Faustina Kovor (Author)
Format: Book
Published: Inishmore Laser Scientific Publishing Ltd, 2022-02-01T00:00:00Z.
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Summary:# Background Evidence suggests that substance use remains one of the negative consequences of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic among older adults. However, not much is known about the prevalence and associated factors of substance use during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana. # Methods Using data from a survey on coronavirus-related health literacy conducted in the Ashanti Region of Ghana among 474 older adults aged 50 years or above, we performed multivariable logistic regression analysis to assess demographic, socio-economic and health-related correlates of alcohol and tobacco use. # Results We recorded a prevalence of 11.4% alcohol use and 6.8% of tobacco smoking, in addition to 16% prevalence of tobacco smoking and/or alcohol intake during the pandemic. After adjusting for the demographic and socio-economic factors, male participants had higher odds of substance use than their female counterparts. Older adults with tertiary education and those who rated their wealth status as poor had a lower odds of substance use than their counterparts. # Conclusions Our findings have implications for designing programs and policies to limit substance use among older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic and possible future disease outbreaks.
Item Description:10.29392/001c.31592
2399-1623