Stressors of old aged persons and Covid-19: A Mirror of Mental Health
By: Fayaz Ahmad Paul, Monaspika Das and Rini Gogoi
Ageing increases the risk of infections, the old aged population is susceptible to several infectious diseases and in the case of Pandemics more than 42,272,014 of infection and 502,905 deaths has been so far recorded in India. A significant number of deaths occur from the elderly category alone. Coronavirus began to spread in India in early 2020, Elderly persons in India as well as in of Jammu and Kashmir and North East experienced disproportionately greater adverse effects from the pandemic including more severe complications, higher mortality, concerns about disruptions to their daily routines and access to care, difficulty in adapting to technologies like telemedicine, and concerns that isolation would exacerbate existing mental health conditions.
Pandemic has created new stressors that people of all ages throughout the world. The coronavirus strand Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 is particularly troublesome given its rapid spread, prolonged incubation period, and potential for transmission by asymptomatic individuals with no cure and initially no vaccine was available, physical distancing social distancing, keeping 6 feet from people you do not cohabitate with is the most effective strategy for slowing the spread of disease. People were advised to practice physical distancing including limiting face-to-face contact with other people, not gathering in large groups, staying out of crowded places, keeping at least 6 feet from others, and restricting travel. All nonessential businesses, schools, places of worship, hospitals, and physicians’ offices were closed for in-person functioning except for critical-need visits.
At the beginning of April 2020, people were advised to wear personal protective equipment, such as a mask and for in-person encounters when maintaining a 6-feet distance from others was not possible. People 65 years of age and those with serious underlying medical conditions are particularly vulnerable to the disease. It is especially important that older people maintain physical distance. Various findings revealed all over the world and the popular media have suggested that older people will face physical health consequences, financial challenges, isolation, and psychological distress as a result of the pandemics. In order to understand the impact of the pandemic on older people and develop effective interventions, it is very important to understand how older people are responding to physical distancing mandates and to identify difficulties and frustrations experienced by older people.
The spread of Pandemics has resulted in mandates to maintain physical distance and it is believed to be the most effective approach for containing the virus. However, queries have been raised about the short and long-term consequences that physical distancing might have on mental health and well-being, especially for older people. Even before the pandemic began social isolation having minimal social contact was found to have effects on morbidity and mortality comparable to or greater than those of smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity. For some older adults, adherence to physical and social distancing mandates may result in an increase in social isolation and such negative outcomes. For others, who are able to remain physically distant but find creative ways to stay socially connected, they may be able to sustain their health and well-being, as being socially connected is associated with better health and a greater likelihood of survival.
Physical distancing mandates have the potential to fundamentally change the way older adults interact with other people and may have long-term impacts on their health and well-being. However, in order to understand these effects, it is important to have observation regarding the behaviors of older adults. If physical distancing mandates have not changed the behaviors of older adults, they may be more likely to contract Covid-19 and experience serious physical health outcomes. On the other hand, if older adults adhere to advice regarding physical distancing behaviors, they may experience threats to their well-being. As such, it is important to examine not only whether older people are engaging in physical distancing behaviors, but also to understand the ripple effects that physical distancing has on their lives to understand the full impact of the pandemic on short- and long-term outcomes.
The stressor of the Covid-19 pandemic, physical distancing mandates that require people to remain at home are defined here as an objective stressor. Thus, in order to understand the impact of the pandemic on older adults’ physical and psychological well-being, it is important to first learn the extent to which older people are adhering to physical distancing mandates. Second, to maximize understanding of the mechanisms through which the pandemic affects older adults, it is important to identify the secondary stressors older adults experience as challenging. For example, consider two individuals for example elderly A and elderly B. Elderly Person A typically works from home and is content with limited social contact. This person may not experience changes in lifestyle due to physical distancing mandates and therefore may not experience negative psychological effects.
However, elderly person B typically interacts with friends daily and grandchildren weekly and regularly engages in volunteer and other leisure activities throughout the week. For elderly B, the loss of physical contact with others and activity may be experienced as stressful and upsetting. This response may then carry implications for his psychological well-being. In the context of the pandemic, it is important, therefore, to identify the specific difficulties individuals experience as consequences of the pandemic. While it is likely that many older people will identify a variety of challenges, it is also likely that some older people will not experience challenges.
The writers are Research Fellows
