ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic have posed major challenges to different groups. One of these are informal caregivers. This study investigates the changes the pandemic has caused for informal caregivers and the extent to which quality of life and burden of care have changed for specific subgroups. METHODS: Data for this cross-sectional study was gathered in the summer of 2020 in a convenient sample of informal caregivers (<â¯67 years of age, Nâ¯= 1143). In addition to sociodemographic data, information on the care situation, compatibility of care and work, as well as stress and quality of life was collected in an online survey. The analysis of care situations and compatibility of care and work is done descriptively. Logistic regression models are used for a subgroup analysis of quality of life and care burden. RESULTS: The care situation has changed for 54.7% of participants and has become more time consuming. For 70.8% of respondents, the COVID-19 pandemic has made it even more difficult to balance care-giving and work. However, most respondents were satisfied with their employers' pandemic management (65.9%). A sharp decline in the quality of life and an increase in the burden of care for informal caregivers was ascertained. Both developments are stronger for young and female caregivers and for those caring for people with a greater need of support. DISCUSSION: The results indicate that living situations worsened for a substantial proportion of informal caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Policymakers should recognize additional challenges that informal caregivers have faced since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and how they vary by subgroups. It is important to include home-based informal care as well as other care settings in future pandemic concepts.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Caregivers , Humans , Female , Quality of Life , Pandemics , Cross-Sectional Studies , Cost of Illness , Germany/epidemiology , COVID-19/epidemiology , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Digital literacy refers to a set of competencies related to the skilled use of computers and information technology. Low digital skills can be a barrier for older adults' full participation in a digital society, and COVID-19 has increased this risk of social exclusion. Older adults' digital inclusion is a complex process that consists of the interplay of structural and individual factors. The ACCESS project unwrapped the complexity of the process and developed an innovative, multilevel model that illustrates how societal, institutional, material and pedagogical aspects shape adults' appropriation of digital literacy. A holistic model describes factors contributing to older adults' digital literacy, acknowledging sociocultural contexts, environments, learning settings and instruction practices for learning digital literacy. Instead of seeing older adults' reasons for learning digital skills purely as individual choice, this model recognizes the interpersonal, institutional and societal aspects that implicitly or explicitly influence older adults' acquisition of digital literacy. The results offer a tool for stakeholders, the research community, companies, designers and other relevant stakeholders to consider digital skills and the given support. It demands diverse communication between different stakeholders about the things that should be discussed when organizing digital support in digitalized societies.