Title_  An Empirical Note on Social Protection, Life Meaning, and Integrated Quality of Life in Rural Ghana

Author_ Afia Dentaa Dankwa, Fanny Adams Quagrainie, Alan Anis Mirhage Kabalan

Pages 168-184

Abstract_ Quality of life in rural areas is typically lower than in urban areas due to vulnerabilities arising from relatively higher poverty levels which expose rural populations to greater life risks. This study examines the mediating role of life meaning on the relationship between social protection interventions (preventive and coping strategies), and an integrated understanding of the quality of life. Integrated quality of life included objective, subjective and existential/religious dimensions. Using the assumptions of capability approach theory, data was collected from 399 individual beneficiaries of social protection interventions in six rural communities in southern Ghana. Ordinary least square regressions were used to test the hypotheses sets. The study found that preventive social protection interventions have positive and significant effects on only subjective quality of life. Coping social protection interventions were positive and significant with objective, subjective and existential/religious quality of life. The findings also revealed that meaning in life mediates the relationship between preventive social protection interventions and subjective quality of life as well as coping social protection interventions and subjective quality of life. The study argues that while rural people have recognized the benefits of accessing social protection interventions due to their functionality, they also need to be assisted to develop meaning in their lives since it has a bearing on the perceived quality of life. Results indicate the need for different approaches that take into account the complexity of local peculiarities to achieve the integrated quality of life through social protection interventions. 

Keywords_ Social protection interventions, Integrative quality of life, Existential quality of life, Meaning in life, Rural areas, Ghana