SOCIAL SECURITY PROVISION AND HEALTHCARE OF SENIOR CITIZENS IN ABIA STATE, NIGERIA

Senior citizens require more medical attention as they advance in age compared with the younger citizens. In many developed societies, the government through social security provides free medical care for senior citizens. In Nigeria, where there is no functional social security programme, many senior citizens face untimely death because of their inability to access proper healthcare services as a result of lack of social security system. This study examined the effect of social security on healthcare of senior citizens in Abia State, Nigeria. The study adopted convergent parallel design. The population of study was the senior citizens in the State. The validated questionnaire and interview guide were the instruments of data collection. Interviews were conducted with senior citizens and community leaders. Descriptive and inferential statistics (regression) were employed in analysis of quantitative data. Qualitative data were content analyzed. The study found that there was joint significant effect of social security provisions on access to health care services by senior citizens, (Adjusted R2 = 0.160, F(6,68) = 3.347; P< 0.05). The Free Healthcare Initiative for Senior Citizens (FHIC) programme provided by the state government covered only four out of the seventeen local governments in the state. The study concluded that the absence of social security system in the state is a major impediment to access to health-care services in spite of the FHIC programme. There is need for establishment of social security programme to cater for the healthcare of senior citizens.