Risk of COVID-19 exposure and more severe illness are serious concerns for older adults. Social distancing has worsened existing social isolation, with severe impacts on connectedness among seniors. The pandemic is threatening to cause an extended health crisis, with impacts including serious health consequences. Our primary purpose is to summarize emerging research describing the impacts of the pandemic on social isolation among older adults. A streamlined search was conducted to fit the scope of this literature review. Common research databases and mainstream resources and websites were utilized to identify research published or released in 2020 to align with the pandemic. Early research indicates that the pandemic has worsened social isolation among older adults. Social isolation has become urgent, as seniors have lost their usual connections due to social distancing. While safety measures are critical to prevent virus exposure, this approach must be balanced with maintaining social connectedness. The pandemic highlights the importance of social connections, with significant impacts on both community-living older adults and those in nursing facilities. Safety protocols have created a paradox of reduced risk along with greater harm. Consequently, adapted approaches are urgently needed to address the consequences of a long-term social recession.

Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) are defined as the broad community-scale conditions and factors shaping daily life. Meanwhile, less is known about the personal, individual-level characteristics impacting health outcomes. These have not been defined as a construct, leaving a gap in overall understanding of the resources that shape healthy and successful aging. Our primary purpose is to propose and define a new construct encompassing critical personal resources to be known as the Personal Determinants of Health (PDOH), built on resilience as a key strength later in life and supported by factors that buffer challenges and declining health. A literature search was conducted to streamline the scope of this review, with key terms determined to identify relevant publications; common databases and resources were utilized. Search strategies failed to identify a standard definition for Personal Determinants of Health as a construct, nor does this term exist regarding applied initiatives with older adults. Thus, a clear opportunity exists to establish PDOH as a unique construct. Despite evidence that individual characteristics impact late-life health outcomes, these key personal resources have not been established as a separate construct. Thus, we propose to define PDOH with a foundation of resilience supported by selected personal resources. Establishing this new construct will be critical in designing initiatives to support older adults and improve their health outcomes.

Older adults facing age-related transitions are at increased risk for depression and loneliness. Reminiscence therapy has demonstrated positive outcomes for older adults, including improved socialization and reduced depression. A program known as LifeBio was designed as a group intervention to engage participants by capturing their life stories to positively impact wellness through reminiscence. This program was adapted to a telephonic format for the Aging Strong 2020 initiative. Semi-structured interviews eliciting feedback about participants’ experiences in the program were conducted with 24 participants. Respondent feedback indicated that those with limited mobility and fewer social connections reported the greatest benefit. Many identified the value of journaling as a form of recordkeeping for family members, but reported varying degrees of journal completion. Suggestions for improvement included future facilitation of two-way communication with other participants and opportunities for face-to-face interaction in group settings.