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Aim: The maintenance of physical activity (PA) over the life course is considered a hallmark for ageing well, but individuals who practice PA also often pursue lifestyles (e.g., smoking) that may inhibit the medicinal impact of PA on them. PA is said to protect against cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), but the literature has little to say about the impact of PA on the risk of CVDs when it is associated with lifestyle factors, comorbidities, and personal characteristics. This study aimed to assess the association between PA time and CVDs, with relevant lifestyle factors, comorbidities, and personal characteristics treated as covariates. Subject and methods: The study’s population was retired and working older people aged 60 years or more in Accra, Ghana. A total of 686 individuals responded to self-reported questionnaires. Pearson’s chi-square test and binary logistic regression were used to present findings. Results: The study found that the risk of having one or more CVDs increases as time spent in moderate and vigorous PA increases, whereas individuals who drank alcohol a few days a week or most days a week are respectively 2 (OR = 2.415; p= 0.037) and 22 (OR = 21.933; p= 0.000) times more likely to have one or more CVDs compared to those who never drank alcohol. Conclusion: Health education should not only encourage PA maintenance but should also make individuals aware of the need to avoid unhealthy behaviours to maximize the positive effect of PA on health.

Background Neglect and abuse of older adults are still prevalent in communities of developing countries, a situation that could discourage active and healthy behaviors in community-dwelling older adults.Methods This study used the cross-sectional and correlational approaches to construct a scale measuring neglect and abuse in older adults living in the community. The study population was all (3,211) older adults who were resident in Accra and were part of the database of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust. Participants were 515 individuals who met some inclusion criteria. Three steps were followed to determine an initial set of 11 items, and principal component analysis with varimax rotation and confirmatory factor analysis were used to select relevant items and assess the psychometric properties of the final scale.Results Principal component analysis with varimax rotation yielded a two-factor solution on all 11 items. The first factor extracted was “discrimination and exploitation,” which accounted for a variance of 53.9% out of total variance of 70.8%. The scale had a good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = .90, factor loading ≥0.50). Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the two-factor solution and produced satisfactory convergent and discriminant validity.Conclusion It is concluded that 11 items that make up 2 factors are potential indicators of neglect and abuse of older adults at the community level. Finally, neglect and abuse of older people in the community can contribute to an increase or decrease in social activity.

Aim: Understanding how the utilization of walkable neighbourhoods to reduce sedentary behaviour is affected by social and demographic factors is important. Therefore, this study examined the moderating influences of active social networks, sedentary social networks and active social networks lost on the association between neighbourhood walkability and sedentary behaviour. Subject and Methods: Twelve hundred community-dwelling older adults (≥60 years old) in Accra, Ghana, participated in this study. From these, 863 returned completed questionnaires on their social networks and sedentary behaviours and were incorporated into the analysis using Pearson’s correlation and hierarchical linear regression (HLR) models controlling for confounding variables identified using sensitivity analysis. Results: Low neighbourhood walkability was associated with sedentary behaviour after controlling for confounders (β = –0.09; t= –2.7; p< 0.05). The negative influence of neighbourhood walkability on sedentary behaviour was significantly increased by the number of social network members independently of their activity levels. Conclusion: Low neighbourhood walkability was associated with sedentary behaviour, and older adults ought to constantly replenish or at least retain their social networks and active social networks in particular as they age to reduce sedentary behaviour.

Background This study examined the influence of built environmental factors in the community on active social network size as well as the moderating influence of different dimensions of social activity on this relationship.Methods This study employed the cross-sectional and correlational approaches to construct a scale measuring key community-level built environment factors and test the moderating influence of social activity on the association between these factors and active social network size in older adults. The study population was all 3,211 older adults who were resident in Accra and were part of the database of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust. Participants were 515 older adults in Accra aged 60 years or more who met some inclusion criteria. A self-reported questionnaire, including a new scale measuring the built environment factors, was used to collect data. Principal component analysis with varimax rotation and confirmatory factor analysis were used to validate the measurement scales, whereas Pearson’s correlation test and multiple linear regression analysis were used to test the associations of interest.Results After controlling for relevant demographic variables, built environment factors in the community have no significant influence on active social network size. Volunteering, support for social ties, and group activity positively moderated the influence of built environment factors on active social network size at p< .05 and β ≥ 0.2.Conclusion The study concludes that social activity is essential to the utilization of available built environmental factors by older adults to make active social ties in the community.