Change in Loneliness Experienced by Older Men and Women Living Alone and With Others at the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Building on theory suggesting that loneliness is distinct from living arrangements, social isolation, and perceived social support, we examined change in loneliness for older people at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Analyzing 14-years of data with multilevel mixed-effects models, we found higher levels of loneliness among people living alone, people more socially isolated, and people with less perceived support. Gender affected changes in loneliness, controlling for social isolation, perceived support, living arrangements, age, education, income, health, and marital status. Women, whether living alone or with others, experienced increases in loneliness; women living alone reported the greatest increase in loneliness. Men living alone reported high levels of loneliness prior to the pandemic, but only a slight increase over time. These analyses, which demonstrate that loneliness changed at the onset of the pandemic as a function of gender and living arrangement identify older people most likely to benefit from intervention.

SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Hesitancy in a Sample of US Adults: Role of Perceived Satisfaction With Health, Access to Healthcare, and Attention to COVID-19 News.

Understanding which communities are most likely to be vaccine hesitant is necessary to increase vaccination rates to control the spread of SARS-CoV-2. This cross-sectional survey of adults (n = 501) from three cities in the United States (Miami, FL, New York City, NY, San Francisco, CA) assessed the role of satisfaction with health and healthcare access and consumption of COVID-19 news, previously un-studied variables related to vaccine hesitancy. Multilevel logistic regression tested the relationship between vaccine hesitancy and study variables. Thirteen percent indicated they would not get vaccinated. Black race (OR 2.6; 95% CI: 1.38-5.3), income (OR = 0.64; 95% CI: 0.50-0.83), inattention to COVID-19 news (OR = 1.6; 95% CI: 1.1-2.5), satisfaction with health (OR 0.72; 95% CI: 0.52-0.99), and healthcare access (OR = 1.7; 95% CI: 1.2-2.7) were associated with vaccine hesitancy. Public health officials should consider these variables when designing public health communication about the vaccine to ensure better uptake.

Challenges Experienced by Older People During the Initial Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has created unique stressors for older people to manage. Informed by the Stress Process Model and the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping, we examined the extent to which older people are adhering to physical distancing mandates and the pandemic-related experiences that older people find most challenging. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: From May 4 to May 17, 2020, a web-based questionnaire focused on the COVID-19 pandemic was completed by 1,272 people (aged 64 and older) who were part of an ongoing research panel in New Jersey recruited in 2006. Frequencies for endorsement of physical distancing behaviors were tabulated, and open-ended responses to the biggest challenge of the pandemic were systematically coded and classified using content analysis. RESULTS: More than 70% of participants reported adhering to physical distancing behaviors. Experiences appraised as most difficult by participants fell into 8 domains: Social Relationships, Activity Restrictions, Psychological, Health, Financial, Global Environment, Death, and Home Care. The most frequently appraised challenges were constraints on social interactions (42.4%) and restrictions on activity (30.9%). DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: In the initial weeks of the pandemic, the majority of older adults reported adhering to COVID-19 physical distancing mandates and identified a range of challenging experiences. Results highlight the factors having the greatest impact on older adults, informing quantitative modeling for testing the impact of the pandemic on health and well-being outcomes, and identifying how intervention efforts may be targeted to maximize the quality of life of older adults.