Southern African Journal of Gerontology, volume 6, number 1, April 1997

[From Editorial] A variety of papers covering interesting and relevant topics and emanating from several countries are included in this number. Togonu-Bickersteth examines levels of satisfaction with care received from sons and daughters of older Yoruba in rural Nigeria. She finds that contrary to expectations, older women are more satisfied than older men with the assistance received from children. Makoni examines the effects of Alzheimer's disease as the disease progresses on the conversational ability of an older second-language speaker. Cattell reports on exploratory research among Zulu grandmothers and granddaughters in KwaZulu-Natal and finds that older women continue to have important roles in the socialization of granddaughters, especially regarding sexual behaviour. Van Dokkum makes out a case for a durable power of attorney, not yet provided for in South African legislation, which can help to protect older citizens against malpractices or exploitation when, because of impaired mental functioning, they are no longer able to look after their affairs. Lefroy gives an update on the Special Dementia Unit as an alternative residential care facility for afflicted older Australians and examines the advantages of this type of accommodation for individuals. their families and society. Finally, Moller reviews a book written by Nana Araba Apt of Ghana. entitled Coping with old age in a changing Africa. She concludes that readers will learn much from Apt's ideas on building on indigenous institutions to meet the challenges of ageing in Africa

Southern African Journal of Gerontology, volume 9, number 2, October 2000

[From Editorial] In this special issue of SAJG, an attempt is made to demonstrate how a selection of studies were conducted and how the research outcomes have been translated into action. Heslop, Agyarko, Adjetey-Sorsey and Mapetla give us a paper in which they have evaluated the methodology used in studies in Ghana and South Africa to determine the contributions of older people. After long periods of implementation and learning, this participatory-research methodology has become synonymous with HAl's research work. The authors take us through the methodology, describe the studies carried out in the two countries, and provide us with a vivid picture of not only the problems which older people in the countries face, but also the immense contribution which they make to the well-being of other people. The impact which this work has had in both countries is notable. Older participants in the studies have taken it upon themselves to advocate their rights, and the governments in the two countries have started to put measures in place to address some of the problems identified in the studies. The paper by Van Vuuren and Groenewald examines the pattern of expenditure of pension income by black pension beneficiaries in the Free State Province of South Africa, against a backdrop of these persons' living circumstances. It goes into detail about issues regarding the payment of pensions, pension sharing within households and expenditure of pension money on specific items, and challenges allegations that pensioners are frequently robbed of their pension money and that they lose this income to loan sharks. Some of the findings of this paper contrast with the findings of the HAl studies conducted with partners in the Northem, Gauteng and Kwazulu-Natal provinces of South Africa (see the first paper in this issue by Heslop and colleagues). In their paper, Kowal, Wolfson and Dowd point out that there is a dearth of empirical and credible data on older people in Africa. Although some research has been conducted on this population, the authors note that by and large the available data derive from small samples, are scattered, and have neither been widely disseminated nor shared. The authors further note a lack of common approaches to data collection. Realising these gaps, the World Health Organisation arranged a workshop in Harare, Zimbabwe in January 2000, to begin a process to develop a minimum data set (MDS) for use by researchers in Africa. An overall aim of the MDS project is to provide data to influence policy and decision makers in various areas which affect older persons.Needs-driven research on nutrition and ageing, carried out by HAl in collaboration with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, is reported by Busolo, Ismail and Peachey in their paper. Nutrition and ageing in developing countries is an area which bas received scant attention. The nutritional requirements of older persons in these countries have not only been inadequately investigated but as a result, nutrition practitioners in various settings simply shoot in the dark. The authors take us down the path which the research took, from bow the needs were identified, to how the research was conducted, to how an intervention programme was set up. They give us some key findings of the research, describe the dissemination process and the application of the findings, and suggest a way forward. An Africa-wide programme currently being implemented as a direct result of this work is aimed at providing knowledge and information on the nutritional requirements of older people to key nutrition institutes, older people's organisations, N GOs (particularly those working in emergency situations), donors and governments. HelpAge International earlier conducted research in the Magu district of Tanzania on the plight of older women who are victimised on suspicion of their being witches (cf. Forrester Kibuga, 1999). Forrester Kibuga and Dianga now draw on this work in their paper. The authors take us through facts pertaining to the witchcraft-related killings, some of the problems which older people in the district face, the changing roles of older people in that area, beliefs and customs of the communities, and the stance of the government and the church on witchcraft. The dynamics of gender issues are also discussed. Following on this research, HAl designed and is now implementing a programme aimed at addressing some of the factors which lead up to these killings and developing sustainable structures to protect older people from violence. In his paper, Gorman draws on the work of HAl in various parts of the world, particularly in Africa - including Tanzania, Ghana, South Africa and Kenya. He argues that violence against older women and men in Africa cannot be attributed to a single, straight-forward problem but must be understood within a complex web that touches on history, family structures, and social and economic factors. He makes practical suggestions on what needs to be done to deal with the problem of violence. HelpAge International will soon be implementing an Africa-wide programme as a response to some of the issues which have been raised in its research on violence. While there is a clear need for more research on ageing in Africa, the research should not be done in a vacuum. There is a simultaneous need for greater collaboration and sharing of research results, and perhaps most importantly, for more action based on research outcomes. At the end of the day researchers should never forget that they have an ethical commitment to their subjects, to society and to their colleagues.Thanks are due to Karen Peachey and Alex Dianga in the HAl Africa Regional Development Centre for the co-ordination of this special issue. Special thanks are due to Monica Ferreira for dedicating the issue to the experience and work of HAl, and for her commitment to addressing issues pertaining to ageing in Africa. She has worked tirelessly to ensure the success of not only this issue of SAJG but of previous issues as well. I have found her a pillar of support and a pleasure to work with. Tavengwa M. Nhongo

Southern African Journal of Gerontology, volume 9, number 1, April 2000

[From Editorial] Four of the five articles in this issue either deal explicitly with or refer to the effects of the AIDS epidemics in the authors' countries. The fifth paper deals with late-life chronic diseases of life-style. In the first paper, Akinsola examines effects of the epidemic on older Batswana and evaluates the effectiveness of his country's Community Home-Based Care programme against the programme's objectives, with special reference to the situation of older persons as primary caregivers to PWAs and AIDS orphans. He concludes that the situation of older carers calls for strong and urgent policy action to assist this highly vulnerable and marginalized group in its critical and valuable role and function as carers. In her paper on the provision of housing and care for older persons in Zambia, Sichingabula considers implications of the anticipated increases in AIDS morbidity and mortality, in the form of an increased demand for formal housing and care by older Zambians in the face of diminished traditional support. Given effects of the country's Structural Adjustment Programme and the Zambian government's inability to expand provision of formal support for the older population, the author makes recommendations for initiatives which NGOs can undertake towards meeting the needs and improving the quality of life of older persons. Next, Shaibu examines the experiences of caregivers to older persons in Botswana within a context of pervasive, abject poverty and multiple, unmet basic needs. The author notes how the HIV I AIDS epidemic, in addition to other social forces, impacts family structures and the capacity of Batswana to care for older relatives. In their paper, authors Patel, Steyn, Charlton, Bourne, Laubscher, Fourie and Jooste describe the risk-factor profile for chronic diseases of life-style, such as hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia and obesity, in the older black population of Cape Town and compare it with risk profiles in other South African ethnic groups. The authors note that although the study population is still at low risk of cardiovascular disease - for example, demographic changes, including urbanisation and the adoption of urban life-styles, are likely to lead to an increase in chronic morbidity in future older cohorts in this population. In a second paper, Sichingabula assesses the physical and social environment of Divine Providence Home, a residential care facility for destitute older persons in Lusaka, Zambia. She draws practitioners' attention to the prudence of incorporating design features in facilities built for older persons which enhance the users' mobility, independence and quality of life. She also highlights a lack of social stimulation and the inactivity of the residents at the home. The author makes the point that given an anticipated increased demand for admission to residential care facilities as a result of AIDS-related deaths and loss of traditional support for older persons, living environments in these facilities must be optimized. In sum, the AIDS-related research papers in this number highlight a need to identify and to strengthen social and care systems which can assist older persons in Africa, as traditional systems are increasingly affected by demographic forces, particularly the effects of the HIV/AIDS epidemics. Finally, Moller reviews a recent, landmark Help Age International report (1999), which is a compilation of 15 papers on ageing in developing countries and challenges facing research, policy and practice

Suider-Afrikaanse Joernaal vir Gerontologie

Southern African Journal of Gerontology; Produced within the framework of the Co-operative Research Programme on AgeingThe broad social issue of generational competition versus generational interdependence is discussed. The way elders are housed offers an excellent example of how benefits putatively allocated to older people in fact more often than not subsume benefits to family members of all ages. Data on generationally shared households from a number of countries and the results of recent studies from the United States are discussed in this context. Separate housing of generations is often preferred where feasible. Where economic, environmental. health, or social needs of either elder or young generations make autonomous households dysfunctional, members of each generation show in their household-formative behaviour their willingness to assist the other generation

Southern African Journal of Gerontology, volume 8, number 2, October 1999

[From Editorial] The papers included in this special issue highlight some of the issues of elderliness and old age in Africa outlined above. Using different disciplinary approaches, the papers should appeal to age-old researchers in varied fields. In a discussion of old age and ageing in pre-industrial Africa, Sagner moves away from the rather simplistic images of old age which still beset many African gerontologists. Drawing on the Xhosa-speaking peoples in the 19th century he argues that the experience of later life was shaped by gender, kinship and "class" differences as well as by biographical factors, making for a variety of later-life experiences. He points out that old age was not a clear-cut period of life with unique demographic, economic or social characteristics/ conditions, set apart from earlier life phases. However, he notes that (deep) old age was firmly tied to religious and metaphysical beliefs. He argues that loss of bodily functions in (deep) old age was hardly stigmatizing as the loss was socially constructed as a sign of increasing other-worldliness. By linking old age with superhuman agency, the ideological hegemony of old age remained unbroken, despite bodily decline, even though the latter could herald loss of this-worldly status and, finally, abandonment in the bush. Moller and Sotshangaye discuss contemporary relations between Zulu grandmothers and grandchildren in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province. Though the grandmothers whom the two authors interviewed expressed deep concern about losing the respect of their grandchildren, in the eyes of the latter old age is, surprisingly, not denigrated as a possible source of moral guidance. Moller and Sotshangaye point out that strains in the grandmothers-grandchildren relationship are located in the rapidly changing social context which easily tends to outdate the elders' teaching, rather than in the intergenerational politics of the family per se. Paradoxically, however, macro-social changes have also led to a re-strengthening of the grandmothers' moral authority. The paper also shows that successful ageing- in the sense of one's personal happiness in old age - is, at least partly, relational defined.Moving northwards up the subcontinent to Mozambique, da Silva records the results of a case study on the situation of older people who had to cope with several long-standing wars and natural disasters in their lifetimes. She analyses the repercussions which endured displacements, forced migrations and other war-related life-course experiences had on the lives of today's elderly, both at the personal and social level. In detailing social policy propositions she reminds us that there is a fundamental divergence between how older people are represented in some authoritative discourses and the social reality of old age. To overcome the prevailing negative representations of old age is of utmost practical importance, as the problematicity image encourages non-participatory government approaches and hinders thus the empowerment of the elderly. Turning to a methodological plane, Mommersteeg details some of the problems - and advantages - which the use of interpreters in qualitative research settings entail. In keeping with a hermeneutic approach, he shows that the interpreter is in fact a culture broker, rather than a mere provider of a linguistically correct translation. Mommersteeg's paper illustrates very well that interviews which are mediated through interpreters are not dialogically but triologically constituted, as are their "products" - the storied voices of the interviewees. In her article, Coetzee reports on exploratory field research in an old-age centre outside Bloemfontein in South Africa's Free State province. Based on participant observation and in-depth interviews she finds that elderly residents experience old age negatively. Though this subjective reality partly reflects the residents' difficulties in adjusting to their ageing bodies, it is mainly grounded in her subjects' difficulties to construct a framework within which their present position in the world could be instilled with personal/social meaning. Coetzee' s paper stresses both the relevance of a life course perspective and a gender-sensitive approach to the study of old-age experience

Southern African Journal of Gerontology, volume 6, number 2, October 1997

[From Editorial] This Special Issue of the Journal comprises a selection of papers based on research on ageing in African countries, which were read at the Third Global Conference. The papers were revised and peer reviewed prior to acceptance by the Journal. The theme of the Special Issue is "Ageing in urban and rural Africa." Each of the papers included in the issue deals with a situation of ageing-in-place, a late-life migratory pattern, or the impact, or implications of social forces and social change on older Africans, in either an urban and/or a rural setting, or in both types of settings in Africa. The papers also draw together the main sub-themes and strands of the conference, particularly those relating to the family, ubuntu, urbanization, AIDS, and income security and poverty

Southern African Journal of Gerontology, volume 5, number 1, April 1996

[From Editorial] This issue comprises a transdisciplinary mix of interesting and relevant papers ranging from a community-development intervention, to gerontolinguistics, to guidelines for new legislation, to community services in China. The issue begins with an article on infrastructure and equity for the elderly, in which authors Ross, Lerer and Phillips investigate the attitudes of older residents of Elim, a village situated in South Africa's Western Cape province, towards electrification of their village and homes. The creation of basic infrastructure in historically-disadvantaged areas throughout South Africa is a priority under the government's RDP. However, in this case study of Elim, the utility company which provides electricity to the village failed to consult the elderly residents on the developmental intervention and the benefits which electrification might have for them. The majority of the older residents who were interviewed were consequently negative about this new energy source. The advantages which electricity has over other fuels have distinct health and other developmental benefits, and in rural households older members are important decision makers on energy use. The study's findings indicate that developmental interventions in ruralbased communities should include a social-marketing component targeting older members of the community. The article by Makoni on discourse practices in first-time encounters between old and young Xhosa-speaking women represents an exciting development in gerontological research in the Southern African region. As far as we know, this is a first report on a linguistics study in an older population in the region. In his analysis of the conversations, Makoni notes the sociohistorical background against which the old women try to retain status and respect. He points out that while the elderly are a marginalized group, the youth in South African society have become empowered through their contributions to the political changes, which along with other social changes are seen by some to destabilize traditional seniority respect norms.In his article Van Dokkum makes out a case for the development of legislation to protect older South Africans against abuse. He uses examples of new South African legislation to deter child abuse and vast legislation in the United States to protect older Americans, in outlining a proposal for local activists to campaign for adequate protection of elderly citizens. Zhu gives us an update on a massive community social-services programme for older people being implemented in the People's Republic of China. The programme partly aims to assist an increasing number of older people who find that they are no longer able to live with kin and must live independently. The programme already serves a staggering proportion of China's 104 million persons aged 60 years and above, although it is estimated that it currently only meets 30 percent of the demand. pensions and household structure in Namibia by Adamchak published in SAJG Volume 4, No 2 (October 1995), and Adamchak's response are welcome additions to this number. The journal encourages debate on papers that it publishes, and the letters also reflect the development and growth of gerontology and research on ageing in the Southern African region. Finally, gerontolinguist Makoni reviews Hamilton's (1994) book in which the author analyses her conversations with Elsie, an Alzheimer's disease patient in a "total institution" (Goffman, 1961). The book contributes to understanding of losses and changes in language use in sufferers of this disease as the dementia progresses. Makoni proposes topics for studies on this subject which might be carried out in Southern African countries, where the majority of dementing older Africans are cared for within the community and not in a long-term care institution

Southern African Journal of Gerontology

Professor Monica Ferreira, Retired Director of the Institute of Ageing in Africa, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, was the founding editor of the journal (SAJG) and Emeritus Professor Valerie Møller was the associate editor for all nine volumes. The journal was SAPSE accredited. Publication of the journal ceased in 2000. With this letter permission is granted for making SAJG available online on the Rhodes Digital Commons

Southern African Journal of Gerontology, volume 2, number 1, April 1993

The second number of SAJG again presents knowledge on ageing and the aged which can be useful in the development of better practices and the formulation of better policies in southern African countries. A focus of the articles in this number is on housing and living arrangements. Nyanguru and Peil writing on Zimbabwe give a finely detailed description of the housing situation of the elderly population using survey material. They draw on comparisons with other developing contexts to place the Zimbabwean housing situation in perspective. At the outset, the authors note that the impact of disability on the elderly is directly related to the nature and quality of housing. In conclusion to their overview of urban and rural housing circumstances. they recommend a more appropriate housing policy for the elderly which makes provision for home maintenance and home-help services to assist the elderly to stay in their homes. Moller re-analyses data collected for South Africa's baseline study of the elderly to explore the possible benefits for South Africa's elderly when they live with adult children. Her comparative case studies are based on the assumption that black elders might prefer to live with sons as traditional custom dictates and whites would usually choose to live independently according to Western custom. Chen systematically explores the question of which children co-reside with elderly parents in Taiwan using a large national database and sophisticated multivariate analyses. He also raises the question whether filial piety is on the decline when children no longer co-reside with their parents. The last article in this issue picks up a subject relating to quality of life-a topic introduced in an article in the first issue of SAJG. Authors Gillespie and Louw wish to re-open the debate on activity and quality of life. They pose the provocative question: Does a decline in activity in the elderly really dampen morale? Preliminary results from the pilot study undertaken by the authors reported in the article yielded inconclusive results. However the pilot study involved only a small sample and is presented to make the point and whet our appetite for further research and debate. In support of Gillespie and Louw's call to re-open the debate on the activity question we contribute further South African evidence which allows for various interpretation

Southern African Journal of Gerontology, volume 6, number 2, October 1997

[From Editorial] This Special Issue of the Journal comprises a selection of papers based on research on ageing in African countries, which were read at the Third Global Conference. The papers were revised and peer reviewed prior to acceptance by the Journal. The theme of the Special Issue is "Ageing in urban and rural Africa." Each of the papers included in the issue deals with a situation of ageing-in-place, a late-life migratory pattern, or the impact, or implications of social forces and social change on older Africans, in either an urban and/or a rural setting, or in both types of settings in Africa. The papers also draw together the main sub-themes and strands of the conference, particularly those relating to the family, ubuntu, urbanization, AIDS, and income security and poverty