Life in lockdown: a telephone survey to investigate the impact of COVID-19 lockdown measures on the lives of older people (≥75 years).
Age Ageing
; 50(2): 341-346, 2021 02 26.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-919303
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the UK government introduced social distancing measures and identified specific populations at high risk from the virus. People ≥70 were deemed 'Clinically Vulnerable'. Distancing measures were introduced to reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19. However, these may have a negative impact on older people who are vulnerable to social isolation and may have challenges accessing services and provisions.OBJECTIVES:
To investigate the impact of COVID-19 lockdown measures on the lives of older people. STUDY DESIGN ANDSETTING:
Cross-sectional telephone survey.PARTICIPANTS:
Community-dwelling older people, 76-97 years.OUTCOMES:
Health anxiety; General health (RAND Short-form 36 Survey); Physical activity; Depression (PHQ-8); Anxiety (GAD-2); Loneliness; Access to services; Challenges, concerns and positive experiences. DATAANALYSIS:
Counts (%), means (SDs). Thematic analysis was used to identify themes from open questions.RESULTS:
n = 142. 52% did not worry about their health; 76% rated their health as 'good', 'very good' or 'excellent'; <10% met the criteria indicative of depression (PHQ-8), or anxiety (GAD-2); 42% were less active than before lockdown; and 27% were lonely at least some of the time. Over half of participants identified positive aspects.CONCLUSIONS:
Most participants reported good health with low levels of health anxiety, anxiety and depression. Many were able to identify positive aspects to lockdown and may be better equipped to deal with lockdown than anticipated. Strategies may be required to ameliorate the negative impact of loneliness for a minority of older people, and help some resume previous activity levels and pursuits.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Aging
/
Adaptation, Psychological
/
Quarantine
/
Communicable Disease Control
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
Age Ageing
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ageing
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