Virus, Fear and Prayer: An Exploration into the Lives of Older Adults during the Covid-19 Pandemic
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51333/njpsw.2022.v23.i2.468Keywords:
Older-adults, COVID-19, Pandemic, Social Work, CopingAbstract
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has severely impacted almost every country in the world. Population in each age-group has been impacted by this pandemic. Since age increases the risk for illness associated with COVID-19, the older-adults are at highest risk during this pandemic. In addition to its impact on physical well-being; COVID-19 infection in older-adults impacts the mental health and has serious socio-economic consequences. Using a qualitative research methodology, this paper attempts to understand the impact of this pandemic on the mental and social well-being of older-adults over a period of one year. It also explores the various coping strategies adopted by older-adults during this period. The data for this paper was collected through in-depth interviews with twenty older persons residing in four urban areas of India between April 2020 and May 2021. The extent of physical impact has a direct bearing on the mental and social well-being of the older adult. The fear of the consequences of this disease was a major cause of mental disturbance. Well-being was also related to financial condition, health of the married partner during this pandemic, support of family members and society. Meditation, prayer and talking to people were the major coping strategies adopted by the older persons during this pandemic. The paper also suggests suitable social work intervention for working with older-adults during a pandemic.
Keywords: Older adults, COVID-19, pandemic, social work, coping
References
Asirvatham, E. S., Sarman, C. J., Saravanamurthy, S. P., Mahalingam, P., Maduraipandian, S., & Lakshmanan, J. (2021). Who is dying from COVID-19 and when? An Analysis of fatalities in Tamil Nadu, India. 9, 275-279. doi:10.1016/j.cegh.2020.09.010
Cameron, C., & McCoy, J. (2021). COVID Vaccines: What Seniors Need to Know. Retrieved December 2021, 18, from National Council on Aging;: https://www.ncoa.org/article/covid-vaccines-what-seniors-need-to-know
Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). People with Certain Medical Conditions. Retrieved December 2021, 12, from U.S. Department of Health & Human Services: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html
Chen, Y., Klein, S. L., Garibaldi, B. T., Li, H., Wu, C., Osevala, N. M., . . . Leng, S. X. (2021). Aging in COVID-19: Vulnerability, immunity and intervention. Ageing Research Reviews, 65, 10125. doi:10.1016/j.arr.2020.101205
Cucinotta, D., & Vanelli, M. (2020). WHO Declares COVID-19 a Pandemic. Acta Biomed, 91(N.1), 157-160. doi:10.23750/abm.v91i1.9397
Das, M., & Bhattacharyya, A. (2021). Social distanciation through COVID-19: A narrative analysis of Indian Peri-Urban Elderly. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 4(1), 100139. doi:10.1016/j.ssaho.2021.100139
Flint, A. J., Bingham, K. S., & Iaboni, A. (2020). Effect of COVID-19 on the mental health care of older people in Canada. International Psychogeriatrics, 32(10), 1113-1116. doi:10.1017/S1041610220000708
Goubev, A. G. (2020). COVID-19: A Challenge to Physiology. Frontiers in Physiology, 11, 584248. doi:10.3389/fphys.2020.584248
Government of India. (2020). Health Advisory for Elderly Population of India during COVID-19. Retrieved December 2021, 25, from Ministry of Health and Family Wefare, GoI: https://www.mohfw.gov.in/pdf/AdvisoryforElderlyPopulation.pdf
Government of India. (2022). #IndiaFightsCorona COVID-19. Retrieved March 2022, 23, from MyGov, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, GoI: https://www.mygov.in/covid-19
Ho, F. K., Petermann-Rocha, F., Gray, S. R., Jani, B. D., Katikiredd, S. V., Niedzwiedz, C. L., . . . Pell, J. P. (2020). Is older age associated with COVID-19 mortality in the absence of other risk factors? General population cohort study of 470,034 participants. PLoS ONE, 15(11), e0241824. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0241824
Hsieh, H. F., & Shannon, S. E. (2005). Three approaches to qualitative content analysis. Qualitative Health Research , 15(9), 1277-1288. doi:10.1177/104973230527668
Hwang, T.-J., Rabheru, K., Peisah, C., Reichman, W., & Ikeda, M. (2020). Loneliness and social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Psychogeriatrics, 32(10), 1217-1220. doi:10.1017/S1041610220000988
Jaarsveld, G. M. (2020). The Effects of COVID-19 Among the Elderly Population: A Case for Closing the Digital Divide. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11, 577427. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2020.577427
Johns Hopkins University. (2022). COVID-19 Dashboard. Retrieved March 23, 2022, from Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University: https://www.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6
Klanidhi, K. B., Bhavesh, M., Ranjan, P., Chakrawarty, A., & Bhadouria, S. B. (2021). Health care of the elderly during Covid 19 pandemic: All a family physician should know. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 10, 1077-1081. doi:10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_2200_20
Le, K., & Nguyen, M. (2021). The psychological burden of the COVID-19 pandemic severity. Economics and Human Biology, 41, 100979. doi:10.1016/j.ehb.2021.100979
Lee, K., Jeong, G.-C., & Yim, J. E. (2020). Consideration of the Psychological and Mental Health of the Elderly during COVID-19: A Theoretical Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(21), 8089. doi:10.3390/ijerph17218098
Maltese, G., Corsonello, A., Rosa, M. D., Soraci, L., Vitale, C., Corica, F., & Lattanzio, F. (2020). Frailty and COVID-19: A Systematic Scoping Review. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 9(7), 2106. doi::10.3390/jcm9072106
Mueller, A. L., McNamara, M. S., & Sinclair, D. A. (2020). Why does COVID-19 disproportionately affect older people? Aging, 12(10), 9959-9981.
Perrotta, F., Corbi, G., Mazzeo, G., Boccia, M., Aronne, L., D’Agnano, V., . . . Bianco, A. (2020). COVID 19 and the elderly: insights into pathogenesis and clinical decision making. Aging Clinical and Experimental Research, 32(8), 1599-1608. doi:10.1007/s40520-020-01631-y
Rana, U. (2020). Elderly suicides in India: an emerging concern during COVID-19 pandemic. International Psychogeriatrics, 32(10), 1251-1252. doi:10.1017/S1041610220001052
Read, B. L. (2018). Serial Interviews: When and Why to Talk to Someone More Than Once. International Journal of Qualitative Methods. doi:10.1177/1609406918783452
Tandon, V. R., & Meeta, M. (2020). COVID 19 Pandemic – Impact On Elderly and Is There a Gender Bias? Journal of Mid-life Health |, 11, 117-119. doi:10.4103/jmh.JMH_175_20
The World Bank. (2022). Population, total - India. Retrieved March 23, 2022, from The World Bank: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?locations=IN
World Health Organization. (2021). Older people & COVID-19. Retrieved December 17, 2021, from World Health Organization: https://www.who.int/teams/social-determinants-of-health/demographic-change-and-healthy-ageing/covid-19
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 National Journal of Professional Social Work
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
