How Has the Nationwide Public Health Emergency of the COVID-19 Pandemic Affected Older Chinese Adults' Health Literacy, Health Behaviors and Practices, and Social Connectedness? Qualitative Evidence From Urban China

Abstract

Older Chinese adults' daily lives have been affected significantly during the outbreak phase of the COVID-19 pandemic since January 2020. They were confronted with activity restrictions due to strict pandemic prevention. The older population also had to get accustomed to widely-used modern technologies in community management, such as health codes and WeChat groups. By late 2021, mainland China had reduced the prevalence of COVID-19, and people's daily lives had primarily returned to pre-pandemic normality. Under China's systematic health management during the pandemic, older Chinese adults' responses to this nationwide public health emergency may have influenced their health in the long run. However, it remains unclear what specific health changes or improvements have occurred. Such a void in the literature is worrying, given that older adults are at high health risks due to the pandemic which, might still be with humankind for a while. Thus, it is of necessity to explore and report their health changes after this official, large-scale health intervention. In this study, 17 adults aged 55 and above were recruited as interviewees. All interviewees reside in a community located in Q district, N city of the People's Republic of China. According to the findings, many interviewees now have better literacy in health risk prevention. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) play a significant role in getting access to health information. Specifically, television, WeChat chatting groups, and TikTok could be valuable information sources for older adults. As for the understanding and evaluation of health information, although older participants can distinguish COVID-19 rumors, they may sometimes feel confused about the underlying scientific logic. Regarding changes in health behaviors and practices, many older adults can integrate health information and knowledge into their daily lives. Additionally, although interviewees can keep important social connections, not all of them are familiar with using new ICTs, such as online chatting group, for social participation and engagement. The empirical evidence suggests that both the communities and the local governments can offer specific training programs to older residents for the sake of enhancing their health literacy, health behaviors and practices, and social connectedness during and after the pandemic.

Behavioral intentions of self‐isolation and informing close contacts after developing mpox‐related symptoms among young men who have sex with men in China

“…Age could be a reason for the difference, as younger MSM may perceive higher mpox infection risk due to sexual activeness 27 and have a better understanding of the importance of both measures to halt transmission, which strengthens their intention to adopt preventive measures 34 . Additionally, frequent quarantine during the COVID‐19 pandemic in China may have raised Chinese YMSM's health literacy about the control of infectious diseases and acceptance of self‐isolation and disclosure 35 . Moreover, the existence of social desirability bias may also contribute to the difference.…”

“…34 Additionally, frequent quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic in China may have raised Chinese YMSM's health literacy about the control of infectious diseases and acceptance of self-isolation and disclosure. 35 Moreover, the existence of social desirability bias may also contribute to the difference. The finding suggests promoting self-isolation and informing close contacts as a mpox outbreak response is feasible among YMSM.…”

Investigating food insecurity, health lifestyles, and self-rated health of older Canadians living alone

“…Supposing that it is because alcohol drinking provides older adults with opportunities to participate in social activities for better social engagement [ 53 , 64 ], in that case, communities can work more on this to increase older Canadians’ social engagement [ 65 ]. Plenty of health-benefiting techniques work efficiently to help them avoid isolation, such as establishing social connections sites [ 66 ] and promoting the application of information and communication technologies [ 67 , 68 ], especially under the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic [ 69 ].…”

The Impact of Interface Design Element Features on Task Performance in Older Adults: Evidence from Eye-Tracking and EEG Signals

“…Smartphone ownership among seniors (65 and older) is 30%, compared to 86% among those aged 18 to 29 [ 3 ]. While being isolated from social life had little negative impact on young people during the spread of COVID-19, the isolation experienced by the older population has become more pronounced due to a lack of infrastructure in smart devices suitable for the elderly population, aggravating their physical and psychological problems [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]. One study found that older people who use mobile internet are 33.1 percent less lonely than those who do not [ 8 , 9 , 10 ].…”