'But we survived': older adults' strategies to cope with the lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic

• Autor(a) principal: Jarego, M.
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Outros Autores: Tasker, F., Costa, P. A., Pais-Ribeiro, J., Ferreira-Valente, A.
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/44249

Background: Older adults are one of the most vulnerable groups to severe illness associated with the SARS-COV-2 virus. Therefore, it would be expected that the elderly would suffer great impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their mental health. However, it seems not to be the case, possibly due to contextual aspects and the strategies used by them to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Our study aimed at exploring the strategies older adults in Portugal deployed during the mandatory lockdowns in 2020 and 2021 to protect their mental health. Methods: A total of 22 older adults were interviewed and included in this study (36% women; age range between 66 and 92 years old). Qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews between Jan-Sept 2020 and analysed according to codebook thematic analysis. Results: Three main themes were identified. The first theme - ‘finding things to do and activities that can protect me’ - referred to behavioural coping strategies adopted to deal with the pandemic (e.g., preventing behaviours to avoid COVID-19 infection, social support). The second theme - ‘identifying how my thoughts can protect me’ - encompassed cognitive coping strategies, such as engaging in meaning-making processes to make sense out of the circumstances. Finally, the third theme - ‘counting myself lucky: me and my home advantages’ - included aspects perceived as beneficial to the wellbeing of participants during lockdowns (e.g., being healthy, living in a rural area). Conclusions: The thematic strategies identified by older adults to manage the pandemic and lockdown-related stresses could be linked to meaning-centred coping and could be further developed via existential therapy.