Loneliness, Wellbeing, and Social Activity in Scottish Older Adults Resulting from Social Distancing during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This study examined the impact of social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic on loneliness, wellbeing, and social activity, including social support, in Scottish older adults. A mixed methods online survey was used to examine these factors during social distancing mid-lockdown, July 2020. Participants were asked to state whether loneliness, wellbeing, social activity, and social support had changed since pre-social distancing, and to provide details of strategies used to keep socially active. A total of 1429 adults (84% aged 60+ years) living in Scotland took part. The majority reported that social distancing regulations made them experience more loneliness and less social contact and support. Loneliness during lockdown was higher than reported norms for this age group before the pandemic. A larger social network, more social contact, and better perceived social support seemed to be protective against loneliness and poor wellbeing. Positive coping strategies reported included increasing online social contact with both existing social networks and reconnecting with previous networks, as well as increasing contact with neighbours and people in the community. This underlines the importance of addressing loneliness and social support in older adults but particularly during situations where risk of isolation is high.

Life in a time of COVID: a mixed method study of the changes in lifestyle, mental and psychosocial health during and after lockdown in Western Australians

“…The sense of loneliness during COVID-19 lockdown as observed in the current study is similar to other communities [ 31 – 33 ], and shown to be associated with adverse mental health effects such as depression, anxiety, and stress-related disorders [ 33 ]. This may account for some of the increased level of self-reported depression and stress seen in this study, as loneliness has been estimated to contribute up to 18% of depression in a longitudinal study [ 34 ].…”

Prior Social Contact and Mental Health Trajectories during COVID-19: Neighborhood Friendship Protects Vulnerable Older Adults

“…Consistent with concepts such as social integration and the natural neighborhood network [33,34], the current study observed that stronger social networks were associated with better mental health during COVID-19 [35,36]. Social contact with neighbors had a weaker but nonetheless statistically significant association with mental health during COVID-19 [37].…”

Using Technology the Right Way to Support Social Connectedness for Older People in the Era of COVID-19

“…The use of PANEL principles to guide the analysis of our data enabled us to identify if and how pre-pandemic practice in Scotland promotes a rights-based approach to using technology to support older people to stay socially connected. Using these data alongside findings from the evidence review and secondary data analysis (reported in full elsewhere [1]) we derive a set of recommendations that underpin the T&SCon guidance and that have relevance beyond Scotland.…”

“…Human rights, the basic rights and freedoms to which all people are entitled, include rights to equal access to services and to equal participation in economic, social, cultural, and leisure activities. However, COVID-19 directly and indirectly impinges on older people's enjoyment of these rights [1]. The likelihood of experiencing greater severity of COVID-19 symptoms and the risk of death from COVID-19 increases with age [2].…”

“…The overarching aim of this paper is to inform discussion on how technology can be used in ways that protect and uphold the human rights of older people. Its specific objectives are: (1) to demonstrate how we used findings from the T&SCon project to build co-created guidance that supports individuals and organisations to take a rights-based approach to using technology to support social connectedness; (2) to present the project findings using the PANEL framework [33], to demonstrate where current practice aligns with a rights-based approach and where there are gaps or areas for development; and (3) to illustrate how insights from use of the PANEL framework informed the final structure and content of the guidance and how as a result it can be used to prompt consideration of risks to older people's human rights during the pandemic and beyond.…”