Dones Iuna, Ciobanu Ruxandra Oana
Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Swiss Center of Expertise in Life Course Research (LIVES), Geneva, Switzerland.
Front Sociol. 2024 May 1;9:1243760. doi: 10.3389/fsoc.2024.1243760. eCollection 2024.
Particularly at the beginning of the pandemic, adults aged 65 and older were portrayed as a homogeneously vulnerable population due to the elevated health risks associated with contracting the COVID-19 disease. This portrayal, combined with travel restrictions, closures of economic sectors, country-wide lockdowns, and suggestions by governmental authorities to limit social contact, had important implications for the wellbeing of older individuals. However, older adults are a heterogeneous population who relies on different resources to cope with stressful periods, like the COVID-19 pandemic. Simultaneously, countries also employed different measures to contain the virus. Research thus far has focused on the short-term consequences of the pandemic, but studies have yet to address its long-term consequences.
We explore older adults' lived experiences nearly 2 years after the pandemic onset. Moreover, we focus on the bordering countries of Switzerland and Italy, who employed contrasting containment measures. This paper analyzes (1) How the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the experiences of wellbeing of older adults in these regions and (2) How older adults coped with the stressors brought about by the pandemic, in particular social distancing.
The paper draws on 31 semi-structured interviews with 11 Swiss natives residing in Switzerland, 10 Italian migrants residing in Switzerland, and 10 Italian natives residing in Italy. Interviews were conducted from December 2021 to March 2022.
Coping mechanisms of the three groups related to acceptance, hobbies, cognitive reframing, telephone use, vaccine use and social distancing. However, results show heterogeneous experiences of wellbeing, with Swiss natives sharing more positive narratives than the other two groups. Moreover, Italian migrants and Italian natives expressed the long-term negative consequences of the pandemic on their experienced wellbeing.
特别是在疫情初期，65岁及以上的成年人由于感染新冠病毒相关的健康风险升高，被描绘为一个同质化的弱势群体。这种描绘，再加上旅行限制、经济部门关闭、全国范围的封锁以及政府当局限制社交接触的建议，对老年人的福祉产生了重要影响。然而，老年人是一个异质群体，他们依靠不同的资源来应对压力时期，比如新冠疫情。同时，各国也采取了不同的措施来控制病毒。迄今为止的研究主要集中在疫情的短期后果上，但尚未涉及长期后果。
我们探究疫情爆发近2年后老年人的生活经历。此外，我们关注瑞士和意大利这两个接壤国家，它们采取了截然不同的防控措施。本文分析（1）新冠疫情如何影响这些地区老年人的幸福感体验，以及（2）老年人如何应对疫情带来的压力源，特别是社交距离措施。
本文采用了对11名居住在瑞士的瑞士本地人、10名居住在瑞士的意大利移民以及10名居住在意大利的意大利本地人进行的31次半结构化访谈。访谈于2021年12月至2022年3月进行。
三组的应对机制与接受、爱好、认知重构、电话使用、疫苗接种和社交距离有关。然而，结果显示幸福感体验存在异质性，瑞士本地人分享的积极叙述比其他两组更多。此外，意大利移民和意大利本地人表达了疫情对他们体验到的幸福感的长期负面影响。
