Kent and Medway Medical School, University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University, Canterbury, UK.
School of Medicine, Keele University, Keele, UK.
BMJ Open. 2022 May 9;12(5):e060405. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-060405.
The aim of this study was to explore the agency of older adults and their strategies to restructure ways of being and belonging in a rapidly and radically changed social environment during the UK's first COVID-19 lockdown in Spring 2020.
Qualitative study consisting of semi-structured interviews. Findings were derived from a thematic analysis of interview transcripts. We also established a patient and public involvement and engagement group who advised on study design, interview topic guide and interpretation of findings.
Interviews were conducted online with older adults in the UK through their platform of choice in Spring 2020 in England, UK.
We conducted 28 interviews (16 women, 12 men) with older adults over the age of 70 years. Our participants were mostly white, middle class adults.
From the data, we constructed three strategies that older adults used to employ agency and create spaces of belonging in their social networks despite lockdown restrictions. First, participants created a sense of belonging by being 'good' members of society who were knowledgeable about COVID-19. Second, older adults created new ways to socially engage with the wider community. Finally, older adults actively restructured social networks to preserve a sense of belonging.
Older adults are actively and creatively carving a space of belonging during the societal upheaval in response to the COVID-19 lockdown and public health restrictions. Rather than internalising potential exclusionary messages based on their age, older adults instead used their agency to reimagine and transform spheres of belonging.
本研究旨在探讨老年人在英国 2020 年春季首次 COVID-19 封锁期间，在社会环境快速而彻底变化的情况下，如何发挥自身能动性，重构生存和归属感的方式。
定性研究，包括半结构化访谈。研究结果来源于对访谈记录的主题分析。我们还成立了一个患者和公众参与和咨询小组，为研究设计、访谈主题指南和研究结果解释提供建议。
2020 年春季，在英国，通过他们选择的平台，对英国的老年人进行了在线访谈。
我们共进行了 28 次访谈（16 名女性，12 名男性），受访者年龄均在 70 岁以上。我们的参与者大多是白人、中产阶级成年人。
从数据中，我们构建了老年人在封锁限制下，利用能动性在其社交网络中创造归属感的三种策略。首先，参与者通过成为了解 COVID-19 的社会“好”成员，来获得归属感。其次，老年人创造了与更广泛社区进行社交互动的新方式。最后，老年人积极重构社交网络，以保持归属感。
老年人在社会动荡中，积极而创造性地为自己创造归属感，以应对 COVID-19 封锁和公共卫生限制。老年人并没有将可能因年龄而产生的排斥信息内化，而是利用能动性重新想象和改变归属感的范围。
