Abstract
The novel COVID-19 pandemic spread quickly and continuously influenced global societies. As a vulnerable population that accounted for the highest percentage of deaths from the pandemic, older adults have experienced huge life-altering challenges and increased risks of mental problems during the pandemic. Empirical evidence is needed to develop effective strategies to promote preventive measures and mitigate the adverse psychological impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to investigate the behavioral responses (i.e., preventive behaviors, physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption) and mental responses (i.e., depression and loneliness) towards the COVID-19 pandemic among Chinese older adults. A further aim was to identify the associations among demographics, behavioral responses, and mental responses. Using a convenience sampling approach, 516 older adults were randomly recruited from five cities of Hubei province in China. Results of the cross-sectional survey showed that 11.7% of participants did not adhere to the WHO recommended preventive measures, while 37.6% and 8.3% of participants decreased physical activity and fruit–vegetable consumption respectively. For mental responses, 30.8% and 69.2% of participants indicated significantly depressive symptoms and severe loneliness, respectively. Participants’ behavioral and mental responses differed significantly in several demographics, such as age group, living situation, marital status, education levels, household income, medical conditions, and perceived health status. Demographic correlates and behavioral responses could significantly predicate the mental response with small-to-moderate effect sizes. This is the first study to investigate the characteristics of behavioral and mental responses of Chinese older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research findings may give new insights into future developments of effective interventions and policies to promote health among older adults in the fight against the pandemic.
Highlights
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has continuously influenced global societies, causing over 219 million confirmed cases and 4.55 million deaths as reported on 25September 2021 by the World Health Organization (WHO 2021a)
Despite the relevant legal penalties and mass information campaigns, we found there were still few older adults who did not comply with the recommended preventive behaviors (PB)
For the associations among demographics, behavioral responses, and mental responses, we found that the older adults who lived alone and had lower education levels were more likely to not comply with the PB in response to the pandemic, while older adults who were older were more likely to decrease the daily fruit-and-vegetable consumption (FVC)
Summary
The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has continuously influenced global societies, causing over 219 million confirmed cases and 4.55 million deaths as reported on 25. September 2021 by the World Health Organization (WHO 2021a). In China, there have been more than 96,000 confirmed cases and over 4600 fatality cases to date Health Commission of China 2021; CSSE 2021). Older adults have accounted for the highest proportion of deaths from COVID-19 (approximately 75%). (Shahid et al 2020; World Health Organization 2020). During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthy ageing advocacy is being confronted with a great challenge. To reduce the human-to-human transmission of the coronavirus, many countries enacted the emergent lockdown policy and implemented strict control measures for the pandemic (Cheng et al 2020; Hu et al 2021).
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