Multidimensional poverty index: a multilevel analysis of deprivation among Iranian older adults

Abstract

Although the older adult population faces a higher risk of poverty compared to others, there is no clear picture of their poverty in Iran. The aim of this study was to measure multidimensional poverty and its related factors among Iranian older adults. This cross-sectional study was conducted from July to November 2019 and collected data by interviewing 1,280 participants in Tehran, Iran. To compute multidimensional poverty, four dimensions were used: health (disabilities), education, housing and standard of living. Single and multidimensional poverty and the joint distribution of deprivation were calculated. Multilevel logistic regression models were used to determine the relationship between predictor variables and outcome (multidimensional poverty). Multidimensional poverty among Tehran's older people was 59.0 per cent. The prevalence of health, housing, education and standard of living deprivations were 15.4, 25.3, 29.5 and 29.9 per cent, respectively. Furthermore, multivariate analysis shows that living with a spouse, being employed, and having health and social insurance coverage were protective factors, while being female was a risk factor for multidimensional poverty. Approximately 21 per cent of multidimensional poverty variance was attributed to the district level and the remaining was assigned to individual-level factors. This study showed that the older adults living in different areas of Tehran experience different aspects of poverty. So paying attention to the dimensions of multidimensional poverty can play an important role in customising the policies of each district. Also, the findings of this study on risk and protective factors of multidimensional poverty can be effective in designing and implementing interventions to mitigate poverty among the older adults.

Multidimensional poverty is associated with dementia among adults in Afghanistan

“…A similar relationship for older women being poorer than older men was established in Iran. 23 Using the same methods in this study, we demonstrated that older women in South Africa were more at risk for dementia. 38 Being a widow, separated or divorced was a risk factor for dementia.…”

“…A 2021 United Nations Development Program (UNDP) study projected that 97% of Afghans will be poor in 2022 following a contraction of the GDP estimated at 13.2%. 18 Older adults are particularly at risk of multidimensional poverty as evidenced in Afghanistan, 19 the United States, 20 Hong Kong, 21 , 22 Iran, 23 and Taiwan. 24 Estimates from a mental health study (n = 4336) established dementia prevalence at 5.8% for Afghans over age 65.…”

Dynamics of multidimensional poverty and its determinants among the middle-aged and older adults in China

“…When c i ≥ k, individual i is defined as multidimensionally poor and c i (k) = c i ; otherwise c i (k) = 0. M 0 has good decomposability, which can be decomposable by subpopulations or indicators (Alkire and Santos, 2014;Kamal et al, 2022).…”

“…Some related studies using cross-sectional data pointed out that the ageing of physical function and the weakening of labour ability are the reasons that make older adults more vulnerable to poverty. Thus, social security, work, and income are essential for older people to cope with poverty risks and maintain welfare (Zhang and Yang, 2020;Amarante and Colacce, 2022;Kamal et al, 2022). Therefore, in this study, we included education, health, living standards, social security, work, and income as the five dimensions of multidimensional poverty on 14 indicators (Table 1).…”

“…Additionally, among the existing studies on multidimensional poverty, only a few centred on older adults. And the few such studies were all based on the static analysis of multidimensional poverty (Amarante and Colacce, 2022;Kamal et al, 2022). To our knowledge, no study has been conducted so far on multidimensional poverty dynamics among older adults.…”