Understanding resilience in later life in a low resource setting

据估计，肯尼亚近60%的城市人口生活在贫民窟和非正规住区，贫民窟居民的人数继续快速增长。关键的发展目标之一是减少城市贫困和改善贫民窟居民的生活。撒哈拉以南非洲城市地区，包括内罗毕，大多数人口处于工作年龄。然而，最近的研究突出表明，越来越多的移民选择“就地”养老，导致生活在贫民窟地区的老年人人数增加，发展中国家城市地区的老龄化可能具有挑战性，特别是考虑到缺乏针对老年人的正式社会支持系统，再加上城市经济中的就业能力，这对老年人来说是一个明显的问题。此外，家庭为老年人的福祉作出贡献的能力可能因移徙和贫民窟日常生活的挑战而削弱。在这种情况下，至关重要的是要了解老年人在资源匮乏的环境中如何适应，他们在最大限度地利用现有社会资本方面的足智多谋，以及这如何转化为更好的健康和社会经济成果以及整体福祉。拟议的研究将使用最近可用的面板数据来调查健康和社会经济状况。本报告分析了居住在内罗毕两个贫民窟的50岁及以上人群的经济轨迹，以阐明在这种环境下与成功老龄化相关的因素。这项研究将采用混合方法和先进的统计方法，以了解个人固有特征与社会或家庭网络、家庭属性等外部保护因素之间的相互作用，以及这些因素如何与冲击、压力源和不利的生命过程事件相互作用，影响个人在经历负面结果时的脆弱性或复原力。将使用定性技术进行深入的跨案例分析，对统计分析的结果进行三角测量，全面了解老年人应对风险的过程，机会和[缺乏]这项研究为理解老年人的弹性因素以及如何支持他们最大限度地利用现有机会和在冲击或压力以及其他可能对他们的健康和社会经济福祉产生负面影响的生命过程事件中，他们需要社会资本。这项研究的结果将有助于为旨在减轻贫穷和改善穷人生活的发展政策提供信息。特别是，这项研究将突出生活在撒哈拉以南非洲城市贫民窟的老年人的状况，这一群体在以该区域为重点的发展讨论和研究中基本上是不可见的。

It is estimated that close to 60 percent of the urban population in Kenya live in slums and informal settlements and the number of slum dwellers continues to grow at a fast pace. One of the key development goals is to reduce urban poverty and improve the lives of slum dwellers. The majority of the population in urban areas in sub-Saharan Africa including Nairobi are of working age. However recent research highlights that a growing number of migrants are choosing to age 'in situ', resulting in an increase in the number of older people living in slum areas.Ageing in urban areas of developing countries can be challenging particularly given the lack of formal social support systems for the aged coupled with employability in the urban economy which is notably problematic for older people. Furthermore, the capacity of the family to contribute to the wellbeing of older persons may be weakened both by migratory moves and the daily challenge of life in the slum. Given this context, it is crucial to understand how older people in low-resource settings adapt, their resourcefulness in maximising on the available social capital and how this translates to better health and socio-economic outcomes and overall wellbeing.The proposed study will use recently available panel data to investigate the health and socio-economic trajectories of a cohort of people aged 50 and over living in two Nairobi slums to shed light on the factors that are associated with successful ageing in such a setting. The study will apply mixed methodology and advanced statistical approaches to understand the interplay between individual inherent characteristics and external protective factors such as social or family networks, household attributes, and how these interact with shocks, stressors and adverse life-course events to influence individuals' vulnerability or resilience in experiencing negative outcomes. In-depth cross-case analysis using qualitative techniques will be used to triangulate the findings from the statistical analysis and provide comprehensive understanding of the processes through which older people navigate risks, opportunities and [lack of] choices in mitigating shocks and adverse life events.This research provides the basis for understanding resilience factors among older people and how they might be supported to maximise on existing opportunities and social capital amidst shocks or stresses as well as other life-course events that would potentially impact negatively on their health and socio-economic wellbeing. Findings from the study will be valuable in informing developmental policies designed to alleviate poverty and improve the lives of poor people. In particular, the study will highlight the situation of older people living in urban slums in sub-Saharan Africa, a group that is largely invisible in the development discourse and research focusing on the region.