A comparative study on mental health and adaptability between older and younger adults during the COVID-19 circuit breaker in Singapore

Yu, Chou Chuen; Tou, Nien Xiang; Low, James A.

doi:10.1186/s12889-022-12857-y

Cited by 14 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…In addition, older people may have a context of resilience and adaptive mental health, with previous evidence suggesting that emotional well-being improves with age. 30 , 31 Nevertheless, the association between age and mental health persisted during the acute full lockdown phase of the pandemic, 17 , 32 , 33 and during the easing of strict governmental restrictions as demonstrated by our findings.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

Mental Health and Sleep Quality of Healthcare Providers After Partial Relief of COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Harbi¹,

Alsabani²,

Olayan³

et al. 2023

JMDH

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Purpose We aimed to assess sleep quality and psychological distress among healthcare workers (HCWs) in the context of mitigated governmental restrictions during COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia. Methods This cross-sectional study included 370 HCWs from a single tertiary healthcare institution in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Sleep quality and psychological distress were measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale – 21 (DASS-21). Results The median stress score for HCWs aged between 20 and 29 years was higher compared to HCWs aged between 30 and 39 years (p=0.002) and HCWs aged between 50 and 59 years (p<0.001). The median anxiety score of the age group between 20 and 29 years was also significantly higher compared to the age groups between 40 and 49 and 50–59 years (all p<0.05). HCWs living with family showed higher anxiety and depression scores compared to those living with non-family members (p=0.006 and p=0.005, respectively). Handling COVID-19 patients on multiple occasions during routine patient care was significantly associated with higher anxiety and depression scores among HCWs. The results also showed higher PSQI scores among younger HCWs (20–29 years) and trainees (all p<0.05). In addition, PSQI correlate significantly with depression ( r =0.268) and anxiety ( r =0.278) scores of DASS-21 scale (all p<0.001). Conclusion Poor psychological well-being and sleep quality were observed among certain groups of HCWs, even after the mitigation of COVID-19 restrictions. This study highlights the need for strategies to manage HCWs at risk of developing psychological distress during future catastrophes.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

Mental Health and Sleep Quality of Healthcare Providers After Partial Relief of COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Harbi¹,

Alsabani²,

Olayan³

et al. 2023

JMDH

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“…Interviews were also all conducted in English via Zoom, which meant that participants in our sample also possessed a certain level of digital literacy. This was also the case for the older adults in our sample where digital literacy is typically instead much lower as shown in a recent local study (58). Many of the older adults in our sample were familiar with social media and actively subscribed to various official news platforms in the digital sphere such as Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Telegram.…”

Section: Limitationssupporting

confidence: 73%

A qualitative study on health stigma and discrimination in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons learnt from a public health perspective

Tang²,

Low³

et al. 2023

Front. Public Health

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BackgroundStigmatisation, misinformation and discrimination have been magnified globally due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The healthcare sector was not spared from this. We conducted a transnational study, using the Health Stigma and Discrimination framework (HSDF) to explore public perception and reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic in a multicultural context. Findings from the Asian arm of the study, sited in Singapore, are reported in this paper.MethodsThis phenomenological research deployed semi-structured informant interviews using non-probability sampling approaches to recruit members of the public. Interviews were coded independently by two researchers and thematic analysis was used to analyse the responses.ResultsTwenty-nine members of the public (23–80 years old) were interviewed between Oct 2020 to Feb 2021. Five major themes were identified: (i) perception of stigma amongst respondents, (ii) experiences of stigma amongst respondents, (iii) views on what drove stigma and misinformation, (iv) facilitators in preventing and reducing stigma and misinformation, and (v) ageist attitudes towards older adults. Overall, construction workers living in dormitories, healthcare workers, and to some extent tourists from China, were perceived to have been stigmatised and shunned by the public. Place-based stigmatisation was common; participants responded by avoiding places that had confirmed cases of COVID-19. Perceived stigma was temporary and not enduring, driven at the outset by fear of being infected. This study also identified the role played by trust in reducing stigmatisation. The relative absence of politicising of issues and high-quality information readily disseminated to the public were reported as factors that could have reduced and prevented stigma and misinformation on the various groups. Ageist attitudes were observed in some participants with older adults being labelled as vulnerable, susceptible to misinformation and being less able to cope during the pandemic.ConclusionThrough the lens of the HSDF, this study provided an exploratory account of the nature of stigma that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic in an Asian context. It also shed light on facilitators in preventing and reducing stigma during an outbreak especially the role of trust and communications during a public health crisis.

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“…While age has been known to be a predictor of internet use [47,48], the large effect size (d=1. 38) found in this study suggests that the magnitude of such a grey digital divide is substantial and warrants more attention. Given that higher education is also associated with greater internet use [47], our results may be confounded by lower education levels among older adults in the study sample.…”

Section: Principal Findingsmentioning

confidence: 64%

“…Items were rated on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (did not apply to me at all) to 4 (applied to me very much or most of the time). Details of interpreting the scores and the use in this study have been described previously [38].…”

Section: Mental Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies have reported that pandemic-related stress is associated with tendencies toward problematic digital use [59][60][61]. Given that younger adults were found to have greater stress concerns during the pandemic [38], it may be the case that younger adults experienced greater stress and thus engaged in greater problematic internet use, which resulted in poorer mental health. More research is recommended to investigate this.…”

Section: Principal Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Internet Use and Effects on Mental Well-being During the Lockdown Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Younger Versus Older Adults: Observational Cross-Sectional Study

Yu,

Tou,

Low

2024

JMIR Form Res

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Background Majority of individuals, including both younger and older adults, had to adapt to digital means to cope with lockdown measures and pandemic-induced lifestyle changes during the COVID-19 pandemic. While internet accessibility was beneficial during the pandemic, existing literature suggests that excessive use could lead to the rise of problematic internet use in adolescents and younger adults. However, the effects on older adults remain unclear. Objective This study aimed to examine differences in internet use during the lockdown phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and explore how age differences in mental health could be explained by time spent on the internet. Methods A door-to-door survey of a nationally representative sample of 602 adults in Singapore was carried out using computer-assisted personal interviewing during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic (October to November 2020). Participants were categorized into younger (21-59 years old) and older (60 years or above) age groups. We assessed self-reported measures of depression, anxiety, and stress; psychosocial adaptability; ability to perform essential activities; social support; health status; digital media use patterns, and time spent on the internet. Procedures complied with existing safe distancing measures. Results Older adults reported being less able to use digital platforms to meet needs and acquire information updates compared with younger adults during the lockdown period of the pandemic. Older adults spent significantly less time on the internet for both work and personal uses per day (mean 146.00 min, SD 9.18 min) compared with younger adults (mean 433.27 min, SD 14.32 min). Significant age differences in depression, anxiety, and stress were found, with younger adults showing poorer mental health. Mediation analysis showed that age differences in depression, anxiety, and stress were partially explained by time spent on the internet. These variables together explained 43%, 40%, and 40% of the variances in depression, anxiety, and stress scores, respectively. Conclusions The findings showed that younger adults spent significantly more time on the internet compared with older adults during the lockdown phase of the pandemic. They were also ahead in their ability to use digital resources to meet needs and engage socially compared with older adults. Despite this, the mental health of younger adults was poor, and this was partially accounted for by the amount of time spent on the internet. Since past research suggests that excessive time spent on the internet could lead to disordered use, the benefits brought by digital technologies could have been attenuated during the lockdown phase of the pandemic. Considering this potential negative effect, it is imperative to educate both young and old adults in the appropriate use of information and communication technology.

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A comparative study on mental health and adaptability between older and younger adults during the COVID-19 circuit breaker in Singapore

Cited by 14 publications

References 39 publications

Mental Health and Sleep Quality of Healthcare Providers After Partial Relief of COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Mental Health and Sleep Quality of Healthcare Providers After Partial Relief of COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

A qualitative study on health stigma and discrimination in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons learnt from a public health perspective

Internet Use and Effects on Mental Well-being During the Lockdown Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Younger Versus Older Adults: Observational Cross-Sectional Study

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