Keeping our distance”
Older adults' experiences during year one of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown in Australia
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12153244 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Allan S Gilbert (0000-0002-0525-8516, La Trobe University), Andrew S Gilbert, Stephanie M Garratt (0000-0001-5884-858X, Monash University), Bianca Brijnath (0000-0002-0536-6859, National Ageing Research Institute), Joan Ostaszkiewicz (0000-0003-4159-4493, National Ageing Research Institute), Frances Batchelor (0000-0002-7302-7293, Deakin University), Christa Dang (0000-0003-0905-282X, National Ageing Research Institute), Briony Dow (0000-0002-4186-314X, Deakin University), Anita Goh (0000-0003-0159-5926, The University of Melbourne, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 67 |
| Pages | 101170-101170 |
| Publication date | 2023-09-15 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Aging Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0890-4065 • E-ISSN: 1879-193X |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.jaging.2023.101170 |
| PMID | 38012941 |
| OpenAlex | W4386839043 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 41 |
The first year of the COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on everyday life in Australia despite relatively low infection rates. Lockdown restrictions were among the harshest in the world, while older adults were portrayed as especially vulnerable by politicians and the media. This study examines the perceptions and experiences of the pandemic and lockdowns among 31 older Australians. We investigated how participants perceived their own vulnerability, their attitudes towards lockdowns and protective behaviors, and how the pandemic affected everyday life. We found that participants were cautious about COVID-19 and vigilant observers of physical distancing. Despite approving of public health guidelines and lockdowns, participants raised concerns about weakening social ties and prolonged social isolation. Those living alone or lacking strong family ties were most likely to report increased loneliness. Most participants nonetheless regarded themselves as "fortunate": they perceived older age as affording them financial, emotional, and relational stability, which insulated them from the worst impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. In their views, financial independence and post-retirement lifestyles helped them adapt to isolation and the disruption of lockdowns
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Disease · Distancing · Everyday life · Isolation (microbiology · Loneliness · Pandemic · Perception · Political science · Psychiatry · Public health · Social distance · Social isolation · Vulnerability (computing · Aging and Gerontology Research · Health disparities and outcomes · Medicine · Nursing · Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction · Psychology · Social Psychology · Gerontology
The Cambridge Handbook of Personal Relationships
Older people and Covid‐19
Ageism and Covid-19
‘An invisible human rights crisis’
Covid-19 and Quarantine, a Catalyst for Ageism
Combatting Social Isolation Among Older Adults in a Time of Physical Distancing
When She Worries I Worry too
Change in Loneliness Experienced by Older Men and Women Living Alone and With Others at the Onset of the Covid-19 Pandemic
Examining the Change of Human Mobility Adherent to Social Restriction Policies and Its Effect on Covid-19 Cases in Australia
Covid-19 mortality risk for older men and women
Ageism in the time of Covid-19
A Double Burden of Exclusion? Digital and Social Exclusion of Older Adults in Times of Covid-19
Covid-19 Worries and Behavior Changes in Older and Younger Men and Women
Societal Views of Older Adults as Vulnerable and a Burden to Society During the Covid-19 Outbreak
Calculated Ageism
From “Coffin Dodger” to “Boomer Remover”
The twin faces of ageism, glorification and abjection
The impact of Covid-19 lockdown measures on older residents' social connections and everyday wellbeing within housing schemes that provide care and support in England and Wales
Vulnerability in context; hard numbers, tricky words and grey areas for gerontology
The trouble with vulnerability. Narrating ageing during the Covid-19 pandemic
BoomerRemover
JobKeeper
Precarity and the assumption of rising insecurity in later life
Chronological quarantine and ageism
Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on social relationships and health
The Many Faces of Vulnerability
Generational Conflict and the Sociology of Generations
| Citations per year | 1.5 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Highly cited | No |