Psychological support guidelines on elderlies during the COVID-19 pandemic era (original) (raw)

Psychological Health Of Elderly People In The Covid-19 Pandemic

International Conference on Sustainable Health Promotion, 2021

The pandemic has hit the world which has implications for all aspects of life, including the lives of the elderly. During the Covid-19 pandemic, this has also become an extraordinary adaptation process for other elderly people, which has an impact on their psychological health. This study aims to provide an overview of the psychological health of elderly people related to their psychological problems, during the Covid-19 pandemic. This is a descriptive study with quantitative methods, using a questionnaire as a data mining tool. Conducted on a sample of 96 elderly people in the age range 55-75 years. The results of the study in general that the elderly who experience psychological problems in general show that 15% are very suitable, 66% are suitable, 18% are not suitable and 1% are not very suitable. The problem with the largest percentage is the increase in negative emotions and death anxiety, which are 75% and 69%, respectively.

Consideration of the Psychological and Mental Health of the Elderly during COVID-19: A Theoretical Review

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2020

COVID-19 has spread worldwide causing an unprecedented public health crisis. After the World Health Organization declared a pandemic in March 2020, the number of confirmed cases and deaths has continued to increase. This situation may be prolonged until an effective, tested, and safe treatment is available. COVID-19 can occur at any age. However, the maximum confirmed cases and deaths have occurred among the elderly. Particularly, the mental and physical health of the elderly aged above 60 and classified as high-risk groups is more vulnerable than other age groups, requiring more attention. Strong social restraint, social distancing, and quarantine measures to prevent the COVID-19 spread have raised concerns about their mental health. Therefore, it is crucial to analyze and identify the psychological concepts and protective factors that support and constitute these guidelines and strategies and prepare practical suggestions and guidelines to protect the mental health of the elderly ...

Psychological effects of the pandemic on caregivers of older adults: A rapid systematic review

2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has rendered numerous impacts on society, especially to caregivers of older adults, who are facing many tasks. These elevated number of demands and modifications can affect these caregivers’ mental health. This study aimed to gather empirical evidence on existing researches about the impact of caregiver’s mental health of older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. This rapid systematic review, developed from international and Brazilian databases from January/2020 to April/2021, identified 4714 potentially relevant articles, published in English and Portuguese. Eighteen (18) articles that potentially met the inclusion criteria were screened and read. Eleven of them met the inclusion criteria and were selected for this review. Caregivers of older adults demonstrate different psychological manifestations such as higher levels of stress, anxiety, sleep problems, depression, somatic symptoms, and poor quality of life. Those can directly influence the care provided t...

Depression and Anxiety among Elderly during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Literature Review

International journal of research publications, 2022

The COVID-19 Pandemic is having an impact on many areas worldwide. The disease affects older people more frequently because of comorbid conditions and declining health as people age. The paranoia of getting infected could worsen not only physical health but also mental health. The psychological aspect of the elderly change as they age, and the prevalence of mental illness grew higher. But there have been studies that show the prevalence of mental illness has increased throughout the pandemic. Finding a comprehensive answer to this issue is a must while requires further investigation.

Considerations for Mitigation of the Psychological Impacts of COVID-19 in Older Adults

International Journal of Community Based Nursing and Midwifery, 2020

There have been numerous outbreaks of infectious diseases in the world. On January 30, 2020, theWorld Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19)a Public Health Emergency.1 The pandemic has caused not only the risk of death, but also too muchpsychological pressure on people all over the world.Older adults are more susceptible to severe infections, cascade of complications, disability, anddeath.2, 3 The elderly might also be more vulnerable to mental health problems because of theirhigher risk of infection.4 They may experience adverse feelings such as fear of death because ofthe potential lethality of the illness. Some of them claim that dying from coronavirus is a horriblenuisance for them because none of their family members would be able to attend their funeral.They are also afraid of being hospitalized in medical facilities that lack sufficient equipment.They fear that if they contract the virus, no one will be able to visit or help th...

Anxiety and depression in the elderly due to COVID-19 pandemic: a pilot study

Middle East Current Psychiatry

Background The elderly are a vulnerable section of the population who are prone to physical, mental, social, and economic deprivation. The effect of COVID-19 had a worldwide impact on all age groups, with a particularly higher mortality and morbidity rate among the elderly population. The present study was undertaken to know about the psychological morbidity in the geriatric population during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was cross-sectional and was done through a telephonic survey. Eligible elderly subjects were contacted telephonically, and the Geriatric Anxiety Scale and the Geriatric Depression Scale were administered. To evaluate the functional ability of elderly subjects, the Everyday Abilities Scale for India (EASI) scale was administered. For the telephonic survey, verbal consent was sought. Results A total of 92 elderly subjects were included. Male outnumbered the females with a ratio of 1.8:1. Spouse and children were primary caregivers in 83.7% of the sub...

A review on the COVID-19-related psychological impact on older adults: vulnerable or not?

Aging Clinical and Experimental Research, 2021

Background COVID-19 is a novel event of the twenty-first century. Therefore, contemporary research is required to determine the current pandemic’s psychological impact on older populations. Soon after the COVID-19 outbreak, several narrative reviews and guidelines were released to support older adult’s psychological wellbeing. However, a lack of data from original studies was reported until May 2020. Aim To identify studies published from May 2020 until January 2021 that quantitatively assessed the mental health impact of COVID-19 on older adults using validated psychometric tools. Method A comprehensive literature search of original research articles was conducted using specific terms. The screening procedure was conducted stepwise. Results Among the 18 included studies, cross-sectional online surveys indicated that older adults were less psychologically distressed than younger ones. A longitudinal study revealed that COVID-19 did not have a major impact on loneliness and satisfact...

Depression, anxiety, coping strategies, quality of life of the elderly during the COVID-19 pandemic

International Journal of Public Health Science (IJPHS)

The occurrence of COVID-19 has a psychological impact on the elderly which will affect mental health and quality of life. This study aimed to identify the relationship between depression, anxiety, coping strategies with the quality of life of the elderly. This cross sectional study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cluster sampling technique was used to select 232 sample. This study employed geriatric depression scale (GDS 15) to measure depression, the geriatric anxiety inventory (GAI) to measure anxiety, brief resilient coping skala (BRCS) to measure coping stratecgies, and the WHOQOOL-BRIEF questionnaire to measure quality of life among the elderly. Data analysis used Multiple Linear Regression statistical test. This study showed that there is a correlation between depression and quality of life (p=0.000), anxiety and quality of life (p=0.000) with coping strategies and quality of life (p=0.027). This study recommended the provision of appropriate psychological interve...

Mental Health Of The Older People During Covid-19 Pandemic

European Proceedings of Health, 2020

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 Unported License, permitting all non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Rapid Support for Older Adults during the initial stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results from a Geriatric Psychiatry helpline

2020

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic and governmental lockdown measures disproportionally impacts older adults. This study presents the results from a psychiatric helpline for older adults in Mannheim, Germany, during the lockdown, set up to provide information and psychosocial support measures. We aim to elucidate the needs of older adults, their reported changes and the psychological impact during the initial stages of the health crisis.Methods55 older adults called the psychiatric helpline between April and June 2020. Information on demographics, previous diagnosis of psychiatric and somatic diseases as well as changes in daily life due to the pandemic was collected anonymously. Current mental health status was assessed using the depression HAMD-7 and the anxiety HAM-A scales.ResultsMost callers were women, older adults (M = 74.69 years), single and retired. 69% of callers reported new or an increase in psychiatric symptoms, with anxiety and depressive symptoms being the most common o...