Are neighbourhoods age-friendly? Experiences of older Surinamese adults in the Netherlands during the COVID-19 pandemic

Older Surinamese adults in the Netherlands have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. The ability to provide support in response to older adults' needs contributes to the age-friendliness of neighbourhoods and may be especially important during public health emergencies such as a pandemic. In this study, older Surinamese adults' experience of neighbourhood age-friendliness, as indicator of a vital city, in general and during the COVID-19 pandemic was explored. Based on the eight age-friendly domains identified by the WHO, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 Surinamese adults (≥70 years) living in Rotterdam and the Hague. Views on the age-friendliness of the neighbourhoods in general and during the pandemic were asked. Despite differences in resilience within and across neighbourhoods, this study showed that certain age-friendly features can support older Surinamese adults in the Netherlands during a pandemic. These findings have implications for policymakers and health service providers seeking to develop age-friendly neighbourhoods, as an indicator of a vital city, in general and during a pandemic. © 2023 The Authors

Peer relationships buffer the negative association of online education with education satisfaction and subsequently with study engagement among undergraduate medical students.

BACKGROUND: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, undergraduate medical students had to follow high amounts of online education. This does not match their preferences and might negatively affect their education satisfaction and study engagement. As low levels of education satisfaction and study engagement are risk factors for burnout and dropout, resources that mitigate these possible negative consequences of forced online education need to be identified. Therefore, the current study investigated 1) the associations of the amount of online education with education satisfaction and study engagement, and 2) whether quantitative (i.e., network size) and qualitative (i.e., perceived support) aspects of peer relationships can buffer the expected negative associations. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study, 372 undergraduate medical students from all eight Dutch medical schools (79.8% female; mean age: 20.4 years) completed an online survey assessing the relevant variables. Data were analysed using correlation and moderated mediation analyses. RESULTS: The amount of online education was significantly negatively related to education satisfaction and study engagement. Additionally, higher amounts of online education were indirectly associated with lower levels of study engagement through lower levels of education satisfaction. More importantly, both quantitative and qualitative aspects of peer relationships significantly buffered this negative indirect association. Specifically, among medical students with a large peer network or high levels of perceived peer support, the amount of online education was no longer significantly negatively related to education satisfaction and subsequently to study engagement. CONCLUSIONS: The current study underlines the importance of peer relationships in the educational context, since our findings indicate that both the peer network size and the perceived peer support protect medical students' education satisfaction and study engagement when confronted with study demands, such as forced online education during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings may be translated into educational efforts that stimulate collaborative learning and the formation of formal peer networks.