Previous life styles and neglect in old age: Perceptions and conceptions of community leaders in Zambia
Previous life styles and neglect in old age: Perceptions and conceptions of community leaders in Zambia

Summary/Abstract: This article is aimed at adding new knowledge to the existing literature on how previous life styles can lead to neglect in old age using the perceptions and conceptions of community leaders in rural and urban Zambia. The article which is based on qualitative data collected from community leaders in Zambia involved in addressing problems of elder abuse argues that previous life styles are playing a part in the neglect of some elder people in rural and urban Zambia. The specific previous life styles which are leading to their neglect include devaluing of the family members and failure to invest in private social protection during their days of productivity. Solutions on how to prevent neglect in old age have also been suggested using the perceptions and conceptions of community leaders in Zambia. The article further argues that since the world is moving towards population ageing and given the fact that neglect of elder people is a global problem, the revelations made in this article have significant implications for social gerontology, social work and public health education, practice and research. This is because social gerontologists, social workers and public health workers are among the frontline workers dealing with the problem of elder neglect. Directions for future research are also suggested.

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