The Effect of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Older Persons: The Reality of Turkey

Abstract

The disease caused by the COVID-19 virus was defined as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020. This health problem, which is effective on a global level, has infected millions of people and many people have died. Due to the pandemic, many areas, from the way individuals interact to their daily life practices, have been adversely affected. It has caused cultural, economic, and social changes at the global level. In our country, a series of practices such as curfews have been implemented to control the pandemic. This situation has changed the course of daily life and has led to changes and transformations in the nature of many institutions in the social structure. Older persons were considered to be the most disadvantaged group in the face of the pandemic. The life of older persons who had psychological, social, and economic problems at various levels before the pandemic in Turkey, became more difficult with the pandemic and their quality of life decreased. Due to the negative effects of the pandemic, older persons have experienced various problems at different levels such as heavy illness, hospitalization, risk of death, being alone, discrimination, abuse and neglect, exposure to social exclusion, inability to reach caregivers, economic problems, and transportation. This article is aimed to reveal the problems experienced by elderly individuals in our country due to Covid-19 pandemic, taking into account the scientific studies carried out by the Turkish scientific community.