Abstract
Due to COVID-19 and the repeated imposition of lockdowns in Pakistan’s Sindh province, the life of senior citizens has become challenging. Given the scarcity of health care policies targeted at Sindh’s aged persons, the use of folk literature as therapy has increased to support against isolation, depression, and distress caused by COVID-19 and lockdowns. Although research on healthy ageing from medical and health care perspectives has been increasingly conducted in different contexts, there is a need to explore how folk literature can contribute to psychological, spiritual, and social wellbeing. Therefore, this research, conducted by collecting data from 15 aged participants through interviews and conversations, seeks to explore how senior Sindhis have used folk literature such as poetry, proverbs, and tales as therapy for their healing. Findings show that the participants’ use of Sindhi folk literature contributes to their psychological (eudemonic, evaluative, and hedonic) wellbeing, spiritual healing, and social satisfaction.
Highlights
IntroductionIn Pakistan alone, 15 million people are aged over 60, which is 7% of its total population (HelpAge International 2019)
Older Sindhis in Pakistan have been vulnerable to effects of the pandemic and the lockdowns
We investigate how lockdowns have enabled a number of older Sindhis to share with community members their wisdom gained from traditional folktales, poetry, and proverbs and help others including themselves obtain resilience
Summary
In Pakistan alone, 15 million people are aged over 60, which is 7% of its total population (HelpAge International 2019). Of the total elderly population, 19.59% are living in Pakistan’s Sindh province (Pakistan Census Report 1998). Ageing presents “social, economic, and cultural challenges” 3), and active and healthy ageing is put high on the agenda of developing countries. In the wake of COVID-19, some people have become much more vulnerable to depression and immunological depletion (Rajkumar 2020). Due to the pandemic and lockdowns, many people lost sources of income, and the elderly were especially vulnerable to the effects of the pandemic (Rajkumar 2020). Older Sindhis in Pakistan have been vulnerable to effects of the pandemic and the lockdowns
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