Health and Protective Measures for Seniors during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Opinion of Polish Society

Abstract

The aim of the study was to determine the opinion of society on the individual care and protection measures towards seniors during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the relationship of opinions with demographic data, knowledge about aging and own experience in contacts with the elderly was examined. The study involved 923 attendees from Poland. The tools used to assess the research problem were: demographic characteristics, a Facts on Aging Quiz (FAQ), the author’s questionnaire about preventive and protective measures for seniors during the COVID-19 pandemic. We observed that over 50% of participants were against designating shopping hours for seniors. The analysis showed that negative attitudes were more often expressed by women than by men; younger people and those declaring that they do not spend too much time with the elderly. In the matter of vaccination priority for the elderly, over 70% participants replied “rather yes” or “definitely yes”. The use of the age criterion in situations of limited access to medications and ventilators was supported mainly by learners, with high results of the FAQ, and professionals dealing with seniors. Finally, almost 56% of participants declared that their contacts with seniors were the same as before the pandemic, while merely 1.6% indicated that they avoid contact with them entirely.

The COVID-19 Pandemic in Poland. Implications for Senior Policies.

“…As it turns out that in retrospect, the social perception of this solution has been mostly negative. A survey performed in February 2021 on a group of 923 respondents indicated that over 50% of people had a negative opinion on the implementation of "senior citizen hours", with women and young people being the majority of those who had a "definitely negative" opinion of the programme (Podhorecka et al, 2021). The Polish Chamber of Commerce also chose to defend the interest of businesses and spoke against this solution.…”

Are You Willing to Protect the Health of Older People? Intergenerational Contact and Ageism as Predictors of Attitudes toward the COVID-19 Vaccination Passport

“…Vergauwen et al [ 31 ] examined a large cross-country dataset (June–July 2020) on older adults’ contact with non-cohabitating children and found that overall contact did not decrease during the pandemic, but rather increased for a large proportion of respondents and decreased only for a minority of respondents. Similarly, Podhorecka et al [ 32 ] found that only a minority of Polish respondents diminished or avoided contact with older people (data collected in February 2021). However, Vergauwen et al [ 31 ] and Podhorecka et al [ 32 ] did not distinguish between direct vs. telephone and online contact in their analysis.…”

“…Similarly, Podhorecka et al [ 32 ] found that only a minority of Polish respondents diminished or avoided contact with older people (data collected in February 2021). However, Vergauwen et al [ 31 ] and Podhorecka et al [ 32 ] did not distinguish between direct vs. telephone and online contact in their analysis. Instead, Arpino, Pasqualini, and Bordone [ 20 ] distinguished between physical (direct, face-to-face) and non-physical (e.g., video-calls, instant messaging) contact, and analyzed older people’s intergenerational contact during the first lockdown in Italy, Spain, and France (April 2020).…”

“…First, previous research has not tested associations between different intergenerational contact forms (physical vs. non-physical, before or during the pandemic) and ageism. Second, published research was conducted mainly in the first months of the pandemic, for an exception see [ 32 ]. While that phase is very intriguing for research on intergenerational contact because of the very strong call to separate and to avoid physical contact especially with older people, contact habits can change, and therefore intergenerational contact should also be investigated during subsequent phases of the pandemic.…”

“…While that phase is very intriguing for research on intergenerational contact because of the very strong call to separate and to avoid physical contact especially with older people, contact habits can change, and therefore intergenerational contact should also be investigated during subsequent phases of the pandemic. Third, most of the research has examined only the point of view of older adults, while the point of view of non-older adults has remained underexplored, for exceptions see [ 30 , 32 ].…”