Older People’s Lived Perspectives of Social Isolation during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy
The aim of the present study is to understand the experiences of isolation and strategies used to cope with it among older people living at home during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. More specifically, the roles of media and online technologies were also explored. Semistructured interviews...
Guardado en:
| Autores principales: | , |
|---|---|
| Formato: | article |
| Lenguaje: | EN |
| Publicado: |
MDPI AG
2021
|
| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://doaj.org/article/f87103b44c23446281c525398ca4a95a |
| Etiquetas: |
Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
|
| id |
oai:doaj.org-article:f87103b44c23446281c525398ca4a95a |
|---|---|
| record_format |
dspace |
| spelling |
oai:doaj.org-article:f87103b44c23446281c525398ca4a95a2021-11-25T17:48:46ZOlder People’s Lived Perspectives of Social Isolation during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy10.3390/ijerph1822118321660-46011661-7827https://doaj.org/article/f87103b44c23446281c525398ca4a95a2021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/22/11832https://doaj.org/toc/1661-7827https://doaj.org/toc/1660-4601The aim of the present study is to understand the experiences of isolation and strategies used to cope with it among older people living at home during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. More specifically, the roles of media and online technologies were also explored. Semistructured interviews were conducted via telephone between March and April 2020 with 30 people aged 72–94 years old living in Northern Italy. The thematic analysis identified six thematic areas: changes in daily life, emotions, social networks, exploited resources and strategies, use of media, and view of the future. Older people faced the emergency in heterogeneous ways; some were able to take advantage of their own residual resources and of social support, whereas in other cases, isolation exacerbated existing weaknesses. Technology and media were useful for reducing loneliness and fostering social contacts, but people with age-related impairments or low digital literacy presented many difficulties in approaching new technologies. Moreover, the overabundance of information could also increase anxiety and feelings of threat. Given the impact of social isolation on older people’s well-being, it is critical to identify and strengthen personal resources and social support strategies that may help older people cope with the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.Sabrina CipollettaFrancesca GrisMDPI AGarticlecoronavirusCOVID-19 pandemiclonelinessinformation and communication technologiesolder peoplequalitative methodMedicineRENInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol 18, Iss 11832, p 11832 (2021) |
| institution |
DOAJ |
| collection |
DOAJ |
| language |
EN |
| topic |
coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic loneliness information and communication technologies older people qualitative method Medicine R |
| spellingShingle |
coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic loneliness information and communication technologies older people qualitative method Medicine R Sabrina Cipolletta Francesca Gris Older People’s Lived Perspectives of Social Isolation during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy |
| description |
The aim of the present study is to understand the experiences of isolation and strategies used to cope with it among older people living at home during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. More specifically, the roles of media and online technologies were also explored. Semistructured interviews were conducted via telephone between March and April 2020 with 30 people aged 72–94 years old living in Northern Italy. The thematic analysis identified six thematic areas: changes in daily life, emotions, social networks, exploited resources and strategies, use of media, and view of the future. Older people faced the emergency in heterogeneous ways; some were able to take advantage of their own residual resources and of social support, whereas in other cases, isolation exacerbated existing weaknesses. Technology and media were useful for reducing loneliness and fostering social contacts, but people with age-related impairments or low digital literacy presented many difficulties in approaching new technologies. Moreover, the overabundance of information could also increase anxiety and feelings of threat. Given the impact of social isolation on older people’s well-being, it is critical to identify and strengthen personal resources and social support strategies that may help older people cope with the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| format |
article |
| author |
Sabrina Cipolletta Francesca Gris |
| author_facet |
Sabrina Cipolletta Francesca Gris |
| author_sort |
Sabrina Cipolletta |
| title |
Older People’s Lived Perspectives of Social Isolation during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy |
| title_short |
Older People’s Lived Perspectives of Social Isolation during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy |
| title_full |
Older People’s Lived Perspectives of Social Isolation during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy |
| title_fullStr |
Older People’s Lived Perspectives of Social Isolation during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Older People’s Lived Perspectives of Social Isolation during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy |
| title_sort |
older people’s lived perspectives of social isolation during the first wave of the covid-19 pandemic in italy |
| publisher |
MDPI AG |
| publishDate |
2021 |
| url |
https://doaj.org/article/f87103b44c23446281c525398ca4a95a |
| work_keys_str_mv |
AT sabrinacipolletta olderpeopleslivedperspectivesofsocialisolationduringthefirstwaveofthecovid19pandemicinitaly AT francescagris olderpeopleslivedperspectivesofsocialisolationduringthefirstwaveofthecovid19pandemicinitaly |
| _version_ |
1718412022143516672 |