Rural-urban and socio-demographic differentials in perceived health state among aging population in Ghana.

Abstract Background The study sought to examine the effect of rural-urban residence and selected sociodemographic factors on perceived health state among aging population by employing a nationally representative data collected by the WHO from 2014 to 2015. Methods Data were derived from the WHO Study on Aging (SAGE) wave 2 released in 2019. A total of 4511 individuals, made up of 1018 adults between 18–49 years and 3493 respondents within the ages of 50 years and above were involved in this study. The study examined the correlations between perceived health, rural-urban residence, age, sex, marital status, ever schooled, and current work state. Subsequently, the study employed an ordinal logistic regression model to test the effect of rural-urban residence, and the demographic variables on perceived health state. Results The selected socio-demographic variables significantly correlated with health state, except for rural-urban residence. However, the predictive ability of rural-urban residence and the socio-demographic variables on perceived health state were strongly ascertained. An individual’s current work state (OR = 2.112) was the most significant factor that increases the perceived health state of respondents in the study. Conclusions Continues engagement in work-related activities and an individual’s age within the aging continuum may significantly influence the development of positive perception towards health state, which forms a vital constituent of an individual health seeking behavior.