COVID-19 and Quarantine, a Catalyst for Ageism

Prioritizing Protecting Oneself Over the COVID-19 Virus Versus Other Health and Social Needs Among Older Adults Living Alone: A Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

People aged 65 and older, deemed most "vulnerable" by public health, were targeted by the coronavirus disease 2019 protection measures, which sought to minimize physical contact and social activities. Older adults living alone were particularly affected by these measures. However, such measures meant to protect the older population may not have necessarily reflected older adults' individual prioritization choices. This study therefore aimed to understand how protecting oneself over the virus was considered in the prioritization of other health and social needs of older adults living alone during the pandemic.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

This study adopted a qualitative design. A total of 17 semistructured interviews were conducted between May 2021 and June 2022 with older adults living alone. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. A reflexive thematic analysis as defined by Braun and Clarke was performed.

RESULTS

Our analysis showed 2 forms of prioritization across 2 themes. This first theme focused on participants who reported prioritizing protecting themselves over the virus by limiting in-person contact and activities. The second theme showed that although several participants reported that protecting themselves over the virus was important to them, the prioritization of this need was not shared by all and, in some cases, evolved over the course of the pandemic.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

Our study demonstrated heterogeneity in the prioritization of older adults needs. Future public health recommendations should consider these variations in the needs and priorities of older adults when determining public health measures.

Is Aging a Disease? A Critical Review Within the Framework of Ageism

Ageism is a type of discrimination characterized by negative social representations of old age and aging, with prejudices and stereotypes that cause rejection and marginalization of older adults, generally considering them as fragile and unproductive. For this reason, it is recognized as one of the main enemies of healthy aging, especially when it arises from the scientific and professional fields. In this sense, the proposals promoted by some researchers regarding the World Health Organization (WHO) classifying aging as a disease goes against the healthy aging approach. In this sense, we consider that there is no theoretical or scientific support to classify aging as a disease, so we must advocate before the WHO so that aging is eliminated within its disease classification codes. In this framework, this review proposes the concept of "hallmarks of ageism" defined as the characteristics, representations and attitudes of rejection and discrimination towards aging, old age and older people, at the political and institutional, scientific or professional, technological and digital, social, family and personal levels, which are presented in an articulated and structured manner. For this reason, it is essential to comprehensively identify and analyze the "hallmarks of ageism", in order to propose programs that include strategies and public policies that promote "anti-ageism" as a counterproposal to the "hallmarks of aging", whose biological changes related to aging are intended to be comparable to chronic non-communicable diseases.

The Link of COVID-19-Related Beliefs and Information Sources to Ageism: Myth or Reality?

This study aimed to understand ambivalent ageism among younger adults during the pandemic by examining whether younger adults' beliefs around COVID-19 and the sources from which they received COVID-19 information were associated with the intensity of their ageism. For this aim, survey data were collected from individuals ages 18 to 44 between July and September 2021. Multiple hierarchical regression analysis revealed that benevolent ageism was more intense than hostile ageism when two subscales of ambivalent ageism-benevolent and hostile-were compared. Hispanic or Latinx respondents showed less intense ambivalent ageism than non-Hispanic and non-Latinx respondents. The respondents' beliefs about safety measures and the prioritization of medical resources were significantly associated with the intensity of their ageism. Receiving COVID-19 information via traditional media and social media was also significantly associated with more intense ageism. These findings indicate that social work advocacy should continue to combat ageism in times of crisis.

"Keeping our distance": Older adults' experiences during year one of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown in Australia

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.

The Conceptual and Methodological Characteristics of Ageism During COVID-19: A Scoping Review of Empirical Studies

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Printed and social media, as well as professional and scholarly platforms, have extensively discussed the proliferation of ageism during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, no study has systematically examined the body of knowledge on the topic. Framed around the characteristics of ageism in general, the aim of this review was to identify and characterize the conceptual and methodological underpinnings of the global, peer-reviewed, and empirical literature on ageism during COVID-19.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

We conducted a scoping review in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, using PubMed, CINAHL, AgeLine, and PsycINFO. Quantitative and/or qualitative, English-language, and peer-reviewed articles were included. Data were tabulated and synthesized.

RESULTS

Thirty six articles examining ageism during the COVID-19 pandemic met inclusion criteria. Most were quantitative (64%) and cross-sectional (81%). The level, correlates, and consequences of ageism during the pandemic were similar to the ones reported before it. Studies about ageism during COVID-19 had similar conceptualization and measurement problems to those before the pandemic.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

Empirical studies did not find ageism during COVID-19 to be a unique phenomenon, as suggested by the media. More theoretically sound and methodologically rigorous studies, using longitudinal designs and validated unique measures are needed to examine this unique phenomenon.

Character Strengths and Resilience in Older Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic

During the pandemic, older adults were perceived as a vulnerable group without considering their various strengths. This study explored the associations between character strengths and resilience, and verified if some of these could predict resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. A sample of 92 participants (women = 79.1%), ≥ 70 years of age (mean = 75.6 years), completed an online version of the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths - Positively keyed (VIA-IS-P) to assess 24 character strengths (grouped under six virtues) and the Connor and Davidson Resilience Scale. Results showed that 20 of the 24 strengths correlated positively and significantly with resilience. A multiple regression analysis revealed that the virtues of courage and transcendence, as well as attitudes toward aging, uniquely predicted the level of resilience. Interventions should be developed to improve certain strengths (e.g., creativity, zest, hope, humor, and curiosity), while reducing ageism, in order to promote resilience.

The Role of Mass Media in Influencing the Lifestyle of the Elderly during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The elderly represent one of the categories that was most affected by the pandemic period. The purpose of this research was to analyze the ways in which mass media and very often contradictory information flows influenced the lives and personal communications of the Romanian elderly population during the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to conduct the research, we used a mixed-methods approach. For the quantitative research, we gave a questionnaire to the elderly population of Romania, and for the qualitative research, we conducted interviews. Our quantitative sample included 881 retired persons with an age between 55 and 94 years old; the mean age was 71.48 years old with 6.6 years standard deviation. The elderly described the pandemic period using negative words: fear, loneliness, anxiety, disaster; the channel they mostly watched and trusted was the TV; they were aware of the measures they had to take to protect themselves; they missed most of the meetings with the family and the main problems they had were represented by loneliness, the inability to be with their families or the lack of access to medical services. The elderly's mass media consumption during the pandemic was mostly represented by TV consumption; the information spread by mass media was sometimes contradictory; it influenced their behavior and may have generated feelings of anxiety among them.

Newspaper coverage on solidarity and personal responsibility in the COVID-19 pandemic: A content analysis from Germany and German-speaking Switzerland

Solidarity and personal responsibility have been repeatedly called upon during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study quantifies and contextualizes the use of these terms in newspaper coverage in Germany and German-speaking Switzerland based on n = 640 articles from six functionally equivalent newspapers. The term solidarity in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic was mentioned in 541/640 articles (84.5%) and was primarily used during phases with high death rates and comparatively stringent policies in place, supporting the idea that solidarity was used to explain restrictive measures to the population and motivate people to comply with these measures. German newspapers published more articles on solidarity than Swiss-German newspapers, consistent with more stringent COVID-19 policies in Germany. Personal responsibility was mentioned in 133/640 articles (20.8%), meaning that the term was less frequently discussed than solidarity. Articles covering personal responsibility included more negative evaluations during phases of high infection rates as compared to phases of low infection rates. Findings indicate that the two terms were, at least to some extent, used in newspaper reporting to contextualize and justify COVID-19 policy during phases of high infection rates. Moreover, the term solidarity was used in a high variety of different contexts and the inherent limits of solidarity were rarely mentioned. Policymakers and journalists need to take this into account for future crises to not jeopardize the positive effects of solidarity.

Upholding dignity during a pandemic via Twitter

Background: This article investigates how people invoked the concept of dignity on Twitter during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a secondary focus on mentions of dignity in the context of older adults and ageing. Methods: We report the results of a study that combines text analytic and interpretive methods to analyze word clusters and dignity-based themes in a cross-national sample of 1,946 original messages posted in 2020. Results: The study finds that dignity discourse on Twitter advances five major themes: (a) recognize dignity as a fundamental right, (b) uphold the dignity of essential workers, (c) preserve the dignity of at-risk populations, (d) prevent cascading disasters that exacerbate dignity's decline, and (e) attend to death, dignity, and the sanctity of life. Conclusions: Moreover, messages focusing on older adults lamented the disproportionate death toll, the terrible circumstances in long-term care homes, the added impact of suspended meal delivery services and the status of older people living below the poverty line.

The State of the Science of Nurses' Implicit Bias: A Call to Go Beyond the Face of the Other and Revisit the Ethics of Belonging and Power

This article summarizes the current state of nurses' implicit bias and discusses the phenomenon from Levinas' face of the Other and ethics of belonging, Watson's human caring and unitary caring science, and Chinn's peace and power theory. Nurses' implicit bias is a global issue; the primary sources of nurses' implicit bias include race/ethnicity, sexuality, health conditions, age, mental health status, and substance use disorders. The current research stays at the descriptive level and addresses implicit bias at the individual level. This article invites nurses to go beyond "the face of the Other" and revisit the ethics of belonging and power.

Helping Behavior of Older Adults during the Early COVID-19 Lockdown in Belgium

This study aimed to understand whether older adults not only received but also provided help during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Belgium, which factors motivated them to help, and whether older adults differed from younger age groups in terms of helping behavior and motives. Bivariate analyses were performed using data generated from an online cross-sectional survey in Belgium (N = 1892).The results showed that older adults who received help also provided it. This "interdependence" - mutual or reciprocal dependence - occurred regardless of age. In terms of motives for providing help, both older adults and their younger peers were primarily motivated by present-oriented and emotion-related motivation: older people were motivated to provide help by altruistic values and humanism, and enhancement motives linked to self-development.Policy implications of these results entail: during crisis situations, make use of the bond between older adults and their neighbors, such as caring communities.

Intergenerational contact during and beyond COVID-19

Intergenerational contact is crucial for promoting intergenerational harmony and reducing ageism. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted and changed the nature and frequency of intergenerational contact. In addition, research suggests that both ageism towards older adults and intergenerational threat regarding succession and consumption, have increased. Through the lens of the Temporally Integrated Model of Intergroup Contact and Threat (TIMICAT; Abrams & Eller, 2016), we explore the implications of these changing dynamics on ageism towards older adults during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Our review reveals that research into intergenerational contact needs to articulate both the time course and salience of contact and threats before making predictions about their impacts on prejudice. The implications of understanding how contact and threat combine to affect ageism for policy and practice are discussed in relation to employment, education, and intergenerational contact programs. We highlight that policy makers play a key role in promoting intergenerational harmony through the reduction of narratives that inflame intergenerational tensions and threat.

Person- and family-centred goal-setting for older adults in Canadian home care: A solution-focused approach

Goal-setting with older adults in home care is often inhibited by a lack of structure to support person- and family-centred care planning, paternalistic decision-making and task-oriented delivery models. The objective of this research study was to determine how goal-setting practices for older adults could be re-oriented around individuals' self-perceived goals, needs and preferences. Solution-focused semi-structured key informant interviews were conducted with older adult home care clients aged 65 years and older (n = 13) and their family/friend caregivers (n = 12) to explore changes, solutions and strategies for person- and family-centred goal-setting. Participants were recruited through community advertisement in a single region of Ontario, Canada between July and October of 2017. Interviews were conducted in-person and were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was guided by a multi-step framework method. Four themes emerged from the data: (1) seeing beyond age enables respect and dignity; (2) relational communication involves two-way information sharing; (3) doing 'with' instead of doing 'for' promotes participation and (4) collaboration is easier when older adults and caregivers lead the way. Older adults and caregivers want to be actively engaged in dialogue during care planning to ensure their preferences are included. The findings from this study add the direct perspectives of older adults and their caregivers to literature on solutions to address ageism, improve communication, enhance information sharing and promote collaboration in geriatric care. Next steps for this work could involve testing the changes, solutions and strategies that emerged to determine the effect on person- and family-centred home care delivery.

The Relationship between Ageism and Well-Being as Mediated through COVID-19-Related Experiences and Discourses

Both COVID-19 and ageism can have a negative impact on the well-being of older people. Yet, our knowledge on the links between COVID-19, ageism and well-being is still emerging. The present study aimed to contribute to this knowledge by exploring the lived experiences of older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. To do so, we analyzed older persons' subjective experiences and perceptions of ageism arising from COVID-19-related policies and discourses in two country contexts-Austria and Ireland-and the implications of these experiences for personal well-being. Based on the thematic analysis of 27 interviews with older adults, we found that participants perceived and encountered a discriminatory homogeneous representation of older people as a group. Three specific forms of this homogenization, namely stigmatization, paternalism, and scapegoating, were identified as impact on well-being. Moreover, our analysis showed how these forms of ageism challenge both the individual and social identities of older people, revealing older participants' different attitudes in responding to this challenge. With reference to the international research literature, we discussed the impact of these experiences on the well-being of older people and the possible legal and socio-political implications of our findings.

The "Vulnerability" Discourse in Times of Covid-19: Between Abandonment and Protection of Canadian Francophone Older Adults

The Covid-19 pandemic has been particularly difficult for older Canadians who have experienced age discrimination. As the media can provide a powerful channel for conveying stereotypes, the current study aimed to explore how Canadian Francophone older adults and the aging process were depicted by the media during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, and to examine if and how the media discourse contributed to ageist attitudes and behaviors. A content analysis of two French Canadian media op-eds and comment pieces (n = 85) published over the course of the first wave of the pandemic was conducted. Findings reveal that the aging process was mainly associated with words of decline, loss, and vulnerability. More so, older people were quasi-absent if not silent in the media discourse. Older adults were positioned as people to fight for and not as people to fight along with in the face of the pandemic. The findings from this study enhance the understanding of theories and concepts of the Theory of Social Representations and the Stereotype Content Model while outlining the importance of providing older people with a voice and a place in the shaping of public discourse around aging. Results also illustrate the transversality and influence of ageism in this linguistic minority context.

Ageism in the COVID-19 pandemic: age-based discrimination in triage decisions and beyond

Ageism has unfortunately become a salient phenomenon during the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, triage decisions based on age have been hotly discussed. In this article, I first defend that, although there are ethical reasons (founded on the principles of benefit and fairness) to consider the age of patients in triage dilemmas, using age as a categorical exclusion is an unjustifiable ageist practice. Then, I argue that ageism during the pandemic has been fueled by media narratives and unfair assumptions which have led to an ethically problematic group homogenization of the older population. Finally, I conclude that an intersectional perspective can shed light on further controversies on ageism and triage in the post-pandemic future.