Elderly Women, Rural Liveability and Access to Health Care in Rural Zimbabwe: A Review from a Human Rights-Based Approach

Elderly people have the right to essential welfare and support services that encompass access to healthcare services. This article explores the day-to-day psycho-social en-counters of elderly women in accessing health services in rural Zimbabwe. The re-search utilised the qualitative research approach in which four key informants were purposively selected for interviews and the snowballing sampling technique used to reach out to eight elderly women who participated in the study. The study was guided by the Human Rights-Based Perspective which informs our thoughts on vulnerabilities of elderly women’s in rural Zimbabwe. The study established that the difficulties of el-derly women are tied to the deteriorating health status due to ageing connected to de-clining family support. As a consequence, the elderly women find themselves in some form of social isolation which generates a state of peril for the rural elderly women. The study established that such isolation results in acute vulnerability, intensified marginalisation and diminished access to essential healthcare services. The study recommends that the duty-bearers, that is, the state and stakeholders, should take up their responsibilities and design tailor-made health services that cater for the daily needs of elderly people in rural communities.