The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the lives of the elderly: perception and change

Abstract

The effects of the pandemic have extrapolated ages and borders, reaching allage groups. In Portugal, as in most countries of the world, we are going through a situation of serious social inequalities, social exclusion and poverty, lack of opportunities in terms ofaccess to health,  education, culture, and justice and rights for all, situations worsened by the Covid-19 Pandemic. The elderly population in the present context, identified as a vulnerable group, presents a higher risk of disease complications, death is significantly higher in the elderly with comorbidities and the risk of complications is also higher. The pandemic has shown us that all elderly people are different and have their own particularities. In order to understand the impact of the pandemic in the lives of the elderly, a qualitative and descriptive exploratory study was carried out, supported by a semi-structured interview script, with 17 people over 67 years old, residing in the Algarve region. The general objective of the study was to understand the subjective meanings and perceptions of the participants regarding the way they faced social restrictions, how they managed the impossibility or reduction of social contacts and how they readapted to a new reality and and what resources or strategies they used. The results showed that most of the interviewees believe that the pandemic crisis had significant impacts on their social relationships and physical and mental health, since they were deprived, given the successive confinements, of carrying out their activities. Responses to the pandemic should be multidisciplinary, combining practice with theory, collaborative, where there is negotiation of local and national partnerships, with economic support to minimize social inequalities in access to goods and services by the elderly.