In their own words: The voices of Older Irish people in the COVID-19 pandemic
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Costello, N., Ward, M., O'Mahoney, P., Kenny, R.A., 'In their own words: The voices of Older Irish people in the COVID-19 pandemic', [Report], The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, Trinity College Dublin, 2021Download Item:
Costello & Ward 2021 - COVID Qualitative report.pdf (PDF) 1.830Mb
Abstract:
Since COVID-19 was declared an international pandemic
by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in March 2020
(HSE, 2021), older people have carried the greatest
burden of serious infection and death from the virus.
Internationally, almost 96% of deaths due to COVID-19
infection occurred among those over the age of 70
(Ioannidis, Axfors, and Contopoulos-Ioannidis, 2021). Within
the Republic of Ireland to date, 93% of deaths have
occurred in this age group (HSE, 2021). This age group is
moreover disproportionally affected by serious infections
leading to hospital admissions. In addition to mortality
and physical illness, the pandemic’s effect on older Irish
people’s mental health has been documented in a
previous COVID-19 study by TILDA researchers (Ward,
O'Mahoney, & Kenny, 2021). This showed that 21% of
participants had clinically meaningful levels of depressive
symptoms, while 29% reported stress levels that were
significantly high. The overall life satisfaction was
relatively low among TILDA participants, with 37%
reporting low levels of satisfaction with life.
Such statistics cause concern for the health and well-
being of older people, but much evidence suggests that
the experience of and resilience to crises among older
people can vary considerably (Chen, 2021). Older people
in high-risk groups, particularly those suffering from one
or more chronic illnesses, are much more likely to
experience challenges regarding their physical and
mental health in times of crisis. A variety of factors can
mitigate these challenges, however. High levels of
intrinsic personal resilience can act as a buffer against ill-
health and personal challenges among older people
(Windle, Woods, & Markland, 2010), and levels of personal
resilience have been significantly associated with the
strength and quality of older peoples’ family and social
networks (Wells, 2010). Likewise, while the restrictions of
the pandemic affected all older people equally, some
initial evidence suggests those older adults more familiar
with information technologies and social media were
better-placed to find alternatives to face-to-face contact
and medical engagement (Age NI, 2020). This likely
reduced their concern regarding the prospect of a
personal crisis occurring during the period of high
restrictions.
This variety in the capacity to cope with and adjust to the
new normal during a crisis period requires an additional
insight into the lived experience among older people. One
recent piece of qualitative research conducted by Age
Northern Ireland with a small sample of older people
showed the variety rather than homogeneity of
experiences, with some finding the isolation of lockdown
more challenging than others (Age NI, 2020). Few studies
to date, however, have explored older people’s
experience of COVID-19 in this way, i.e. by directly
soliciting personal responses. TILDA was ideally placed to
do so by reaching out to its nationally representative
sample of older people in Ireland and requesting their
experience of the pandemic.
This report presents a summary of those experiences,
grouped into main themes as reported by TILDA
participants in their own words during the first period of
lockdown. Presenting these voices not only acknowledges
the value of such experiences but may also serve to
challenge negative perceptions and stereotypes of older
people that were a feature of some narratives in the
period covered by this research.
Sponsor
Grant Number
Health Research Board (HRB)
COV19-2020-070
Author's Homepage:
http://people.tcd.ie/wardm8Publisher:
The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, Trinity College DublinType of material:
ReportCollections:
Availability:
Full text availableKeywords:
Ageing, COVID-19, Resilience, Social isolation, Hope, Optimism, TILDA, NormalitySubject (TCD):
AgeingDOI:
https://www.doi.org/10.38018/TildaRe.2021-04ISBN:
978-1-907894-37-4Licences: