Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Elderly People: A Study of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns adversely affected every sphere of the life throughout the world. The negative impacts of COVID-19 affected all age groups, including senior citizens. The pandemic and the lockdown brought severe psychological, social, cultural and economic impacts on the lives of elderly people. This study aims to know about the economic and psychological impact of COVID-19 on senior citizens. The nature of the study is qualitative. For the study, 20 respondents were selected through purposive sampling technique from the village Rehankot, Dir Lower, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Data has been collected through in-depth interviews and then analyzed through the technique of thematic analysis. The results show that the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns brought negative psychological and economic impacts on senior citizens in the form of anxiety, depression, poverty.