Worries, attitudes, and mental health of older adults during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Canadian and U.S. perspectives

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Differences in older adults' worry, attitudes, and mental health between high-income countries with diverging pandemic responses are largely unknown. We compared COVID-19 worry, attitudes towards governmental responses, and self-reported mental health symptoms among adults aged ≥55 in the United States and Canada early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Design: Online cross-sectional survey administered between April 2nd and May 31st in the United States and between May 1st and June 30th, 2020 in Canada. Setting: Nationally in the United States and Canada. Participants: Convenience sample of older adults aged ≥55. Measurements: Likert-type scales measured COVID-19 worry and attitudes towards government support. Three standardized scales assessed mental health symptoms: the eight-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, the five-item Beck Anxiety Inventory, and the three-item UCLA loneliness scale.Results: There were 4453 U.S. respondents (71.7% women; mean age 67.5) and 1549 Canadian (67.6% women; mean age 69.3). More U.S. respondents (71%) were moderately or extremely worried about the pandemic, compared to 52% in Canada. Just 20% of U.S. respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the federal government cared about older adults in their COVID-19 pandemic response, compared to nearly two-thirds of Canadians (63%). U.S. respondents were more likely to report elevated depressive and anxiety symptoms compared to Canadians; 34.2% (32.8-35.6) versus 25.6% (23.3-27.8) for depressive and 30.8% (29.5-32.2) versus 23.7% (21.6-25.9) for anxiety symptoms. The proportion of United States and Canadian respondents who reported loneliness was similar. A greater proportion of women compared to men reported symptoms of depression and anxiety across all age groups in both countries. Conclusion: U.S. older adults felt less supported by their federal government and had elevated depressive and anxiety symptoms compared to older adults in Canada during early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Public health

Predictors of Anxiety, Stress, and Concern of COVID-19 Infection in Older Adults During the First and the Second Waves of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Slovakia

“…Although the current research was a part of a broader Slovak study involving a general adult sample as well as an older adult sample (Bavo ˇlár et al, 2021), the results presented in this paper cannot be fully compared with the general adult sample as some variables were measured with different instruments. However, the current findings can be compared with similar research studies conducted on a cohort of older adults in different countries during the COVID-19 pandemic (Ahorsu et al, 2020;Bergman et al, 2020;Bidzan-Bluma et al, 2020;Carriedo et al, 2020;García-Portilla et al, 2020;Grossman et al, 2021;Han et al, 2021;Jordan et al, 2021;Parlapani et al, 2020;Reppas-Rindlisbacher et al, 2021;Robb et al, 2020;Shrira et al, 2020;Tyler et al, 2021;Zhou et al, 2021).…”

Impactos da pandemia COVID-19 na saúde mental dos idosos: uma revisão integrativa

“…Um estudo comparativo entre Estados Unidos da América e Canadá, durante os primeiros meses da pandemia da COVID-19, concluiu que idosos dos Estados Unidos se sentiram menos apoiados pelo governo federal e apresentaram sintomas de depressão e ansiedade elevados em comparação aos idosos do Canadá (Reppas-Rindlisbacher et al, 2021). Na Áustria, a solidão foi maior durante o confinamento em comparação com a fase subsequente de reabertura, ou seja, medidas rápidas de combate ao vírus, realizadas pelo governo federal, evitam que a longo prazo haja efeitos permanentes, principalmente em idosos (Stolz, et al, 2021).…”

Older Americans’ Perceptions of the Federal Government’s Pandemic Response: Voices From the COVID-19 Coping Study

“…These findings are consistent with those in other countries that have documented the importance of trust in science and government officials. For example, one study found that older adults in the U.S. felt less supported by their federal government compared to older Canadians at the beginning of the pandemic ( Reppas-Rindlisbacher et al, 2021 ). Additionally, a U.K. study found that opinions related to the COVID-19 pandemic were largely dependent on trust in science and health officials, though underlying societal divides such as income and educational disparities explain some of these differences ( Maher et al, 2020 ).…”