How has COVID-19 affected the elderly?
The abrupt outbreak of the pandemic brought a lot of insecurities, unforeseen outcomes, and a whole set of adjustments and coping mechanisms at work.
Undoubtedly healthwise, both physically and mentally, the pandemic took away a lot of added energies. The maximum effect that any age group has encountered is the elderly. They have been at the highest risk of contagion and mental stress.
The initial months of the pandemic with the lockdown and unprecedented change, and with us sticking to the news and helplessly watching the death toll rise, it became quite a challenging task to adapt to this change. Misinformation, unclarified and self-explained theories aired the first few months of the pandemic.
The elderly with limited access to authentic resources and comparatively less access to technology have faced a hard time dealing with the confusion of whom and what to believe. With time, however, desensitisation has increased and also the government has operated at their optimum level to bring the situation under control. The substantial stress generated by “information overload” can lead to paranoia and healthcare-related mistrust which might lead them to avoid quarantine, having dire public health consequences.
Common scenarios:
This period has been quite productive for some elderly as well as equally irritating for others. With the pandemic came the reduction of the elderly’s social ties, be it an elderly club or community or their laughing club. With decreased mobility and the helplessness kicking in, a lot of them might have lost their functional resilient qualities.
The uncertainty, pruning of monetary income sources, and reduction of resources made strategic planning foggy and disoriented. Some elderly have got a chance to reconnect with their family members whom they always complained of not having time for them and give a new dimension to their relationships. For others whose child or someone they have a close relationship with who could not return home or rather gave in to the battle of this pandemic must have fought back so many emotions to regain their homeostasis.
In cases of elderly who only had their spouse to hold each other accountable and one of them giving in to this battle must have got a lot to deal with. Also, losing their only health consultant they felt comfortable with to this battle against this virus might have etched deep grief.
Mental health state:
Such reckless situational incidents of helplessness and anxiousness might ignite mental disorders or illnesses of people already biologically predisposed to develop those disorders. Depression, PTSD, or other mood or anxiety disorders feed on such helpless and hopeless situational factors. No wonder the situation at this point in time has become quite liberal and controllable but it does not at all substitute the need for a proper assessment of the mental health condition of the elderly as and when feasible. Cognitive impairment, and problems like wandering, irritability, and psychotic symptoms can worsen the panic and make it difficult for them to follow the precautions of distancing and hand hygiene.
After-pandemic strategies:
The current situation heading towards an after-pandemic world again calls in for a lot of adaptation and adjustments. The elderly in general termed as resistant to change may face innumerable consequences as a result of these consecutive changes. The effects are amplified for any older person who doesn’t have access to technology platforms like Skype and FaceTime or who has limited access to phone calls. We cannot assume that a switch to virtual socialisation or virtual access to resources is going to work for all older people. Efforts to protect older persons should not overlook the many variations within this category, their incredible resilience, and positivity, and the multiple roles they have in society, including caregivers, volunteers, and community leaders.
Such stressful situations require strategic and compassionate planning to revive the health of the elderly while keeping a special note of the maintenance of the stress level. A careful after-pandemic mental health guide is the need of the hour. Reconnecting and jotting down the cluttered social ties play the major role. We need improved social support and smarter efforts to reach older people.
Elderly at institutionalised care:
The group of elderly with comorbid issues admitted in hospital settings or other old age homes are at higher risks of getting infected. Many of them are institutionalised, exposing them to the risk of overcrowding, poor hygiene, and lack of adequate supervision. Proper testing is also hampered due to neglect and that increases the risk of them being asymptomatic carriers.
Pandemics have a significant psychosocial impact. Health anxiety, panic, adjustment disorders, depression, chronic stress, and insomnia are the major offshoots. Misinformation and uncertainty give rise to mass hysteria. Among them, the elderly are especially vulnerable.
Older people carry the collective wisdom of our societies. They are valued and valuable members of our families and communities. Reports of abandoned older persons in care homes or of corpses found in nursing homes reinforce the obligation we all have to exercise solidarity and protect older persons from such harm.
Caregiver threats:
COVID-19 poses a risk not only to the health of older adults who comes in contact with the disease but also to those without the health care resources and social structures that contribute to overall wellness. If family caregivers have jobs that require them to be in regular contact with others, such as bus drivers or nurses, they may have to decide between providing essential help to an older loved one or risk passing the virus to that person.
Older persons who are quarantined or locked down with family members or caregivers may also face higher risks of violence, abuse, and neglect. Older persons living in precarious conditions such as refugee camps, informal settlements, and prisons are particularly at risk, due to overcrowded conditions, limited access to health services, water, and sanitation facilities, as well as potential challenges accessing humanitarian support and assistance.
Possible measures:
Feasible measures that might be taken can include ensuring that difficult health-care decisions affecting older people are guided by a commitment to dignity and the right to health. Commitments such as strengthening social inclusion and solidarity during physical distancing, fully integrating a focus on older persons into the socio-economic and humanitarian response to COVID-19 can promote compassionate care to the elderly at this hour of a pandemic. The elderly who survived the outbreak of the disease is to be treated with dignity. The goal is to expand participation by older persons, share good practices, and harness knowledge and data.
Lastly, people can also support their older family members or friends by asking the person what would be most helpful to them. It’s really important to remember, even during a crisis, to make time for our elder’s needs.