Aging in Place within Elderly People in the Southwest Iran

Introduction: Iran and its aged society are facing some issues that significantly impact the current social structures in Iran. It will continue to do so on their growing as elderly with negative impacts on communal relations and unjust distribution of resources based on a gender basis that will affect the aging in place (AiP). The study aims to investigate the AiP within aged people and modifying role of the gender variables within it. Methods: This study describes the current AiP of the aged people in Ahwaz city in the southwest Iran from a gender perspective. The population available for the study was citizens 60 years of age and older (N=51594) in Ahwaz city. Sampling method was cluster-ratio based on municipal zones, ethnicity, and gender with sample size 382 (195 male and 187 female). The data were analysed by descriptive statistics, F-test and geographical information system. Results: Economically poor situation of the aged samples especially aged women, and their health status was moderated by low quality of nutrition and high prevalence of chronic conditions. For example, Arabs, Persian and Lor received low mean scores of 59.41, (SD = 7.332), 58.09 (SD = 11.963), and 57.02, (SD = 7.963) respectively in the health status. AiP characteristics are poor and discrimination was especially significantly prominent among elderly females. Multiple regression were found to modify AiP at the first step. The Generalized Linear Model revealed that gender-ethnic discrimination directly affected AiP and high prevalent amongst elderly minority females. Conclusion: The current urban environment, in the southwest Iran, seems is unable to meet healthy needs of aged people. It needs to adjust upon gender and other relevant characteristics to monitor equality of outcomes for aged and minorities. The future research needs to focus on effect of ethnicity and gender-related issues on AiP, especially in developing countries like Iran.