Representations of older adults in COVID-related newspaper articles: A comparison between the perspectives of older and younger adults

Jeong, Mijin; Jen, Sarah; Kang, Hee-Sook; Riquino, Michael R.; Goldberg, Jamie

doi:10.1016/j.jaging.2022.101081

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Amidst this sad reality, the dissemination of information to the public has been the subject of various analyses. Findings from this work have noted the worldwide ageist nature of editorial lines, the devaluation of older adults (Søraa et al, 2020;Naughton et al, 2021;Graham, 2022;Jeong et al, 2022;Ylänne, 2022) and the tendency to separate the discourses ascribed to older adults from those used to describe the rest of society (Dionne and Turkmen, 2020;Allen and Ayalon, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Tragedy and value of life of older persons in long-term care homes during COVID-19: a critical discourse analysis

Lessard,

Oyinlola,

Sussman

2024

Ageing and Society

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, the media provided daily coverage of this unprecedented crisis in the history of the 21st century. Some topics, such as how the virus affected older adults, were widely covered. The way in which COVID-19 was documented evoked a ‘tragedy’ narrative through consistent reporting about the suffering it was causing and the deleterious consequences it had on specific populations, including residents of long-term care homes (LTC). This article explores how reports on COVID-19 in LTC homes in a national newspaper (The Globe and Mail) fuelled a tragedy discourse that modulated the value of life of older adults living in those environments. We used critical discourse analysis and analysed 74 articles focusing on older persons residing in LTC homes in two Canadian provinces (Quebec and Ontario) during COVID-19. This article offers a brief overview of the notion of tragedy and how the discourse of tragedy is intertwined with humanitarian crises, life and death, and the value of life. Our findings revealed the construction of three types of tragedies that shape our societal values around life and death in LTC: the tragedy of the threat to life, the tragedy of the unfortunate (old, vulnerable and lacking in agency) and, finally, the tragedy of historical neglect and abandonment. Our findings suggest that the nature of reporting on life and death in LTC homes during the COVID-19 pandemic provoked a sense of fear and pity for a passive other. Re-thinking what gets reported in the media, including whose voice is represented/missing and how tragedy narratives are balanced with contesting stories, could elicit more sentiments of solidarity and action rather than reinforce pity, distancing and immobilisation.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Tragedy and value of life of older persons in long-term care homes during COVID-19: a critical discourse analysis

Lessard,

Oyinlola,

Sussman

2024

Ageing and Society

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“…However, for other older people in this study, the impact of the COVID-19 restrictions was minor, and they coped as they always had by using phones and social media to communicate with family and/or found comfort in their nursing home relationships. Te perception that COVID-19 was an older persons' disease due to their higher mortality [69] may explain the belief that older people were impacted by the pandemic restrictions more than others. Te impact of the COVID-19 restrictions (i.e., social isolation and loneliness) experienced by older people was less than that experienced by younger people [70], and participation in social activities by older people living in nursing homes increased during COVID-19 restrictions [68].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“You’ve Got to Connect with the People”: The Meaning of, Preferences for, and Involvement in Social Participation for Older People Living in Nursing Homes in Victoria, Australia

Rayner,

Fetherstonhaugh,

McAuliffe

et al. 2024

Health & Social Care in the Community

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This research sought to explore the meaning of, preferences for, and involvement in social participation for older people living in nursing homes in Victoria, Australia. A qualitative descriptive study using semistructured interviews with twenty older people living in four geographically and ethnically diverse nursing homes was conducted between 2020 and 2022. Interview transcripts were thematically analysed. All the older people had been very socially active before moving into aged care and had participated in leisure and volunteering activities. Five themes emerged from the data analysis related to the meaning of, preferences for, and involvement in activities for social participation. The meaning of social participation among these older people varied. Some participated in group activities to keep active and busy, while others were content with interests of their own. Social participation in group activities provided older people with a connection to others and assisted in maintaining existing, or developing new, relationships. However, the ability to participate in group activities that offered opportunities for social participation was limited by age-related decline for some older people. The COVID-19 pandemic restrictions constrained activities, which provided opportunities for social participation for some older people living in nursing homes, but not all. These perspectives highlight the need for individualised person-centred opportunities for social participation in nursing homes. Group activities should enable older people to remain active and facilitate social connections that provide meaning and purpose. Respect for individual choice is important, as older people are not a homogeneous group, and opportunities to pursue individual activities should be facilitated.

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Representations of older people in Turkish prime-time TV series and Netflix original Turkish series: A comparative content analysis

Çelik

2023

Journal of Aging Studies

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Representations of older adults in COVID-related newspaper articles: A comparison between the perspectives of older and younger adults

Cited by 6 publications

References 29 publications

Tragedy and value of life of older persons in long-term care homes during COVID-19: a critical discourse analysis

Tragedy and value of life of older persons in long-term care homes during COVID-19: a critical discourse analysis

“You’ve Got to Connect with the People”: The Meaning of, Preferences for, and Involvement in Social Participation for Older People Living in Nursing Homes in Victoria, Australia

Representations of older people in Turkish prime-time TV series and Netflix original Turkish series: A comparative content analysis

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