New York University Silver School of Social Work, New York, NY, USA.
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Inquiry. 2024 Jan-Dec;61:469580241273277. doi: 10.1177/00469580241273277.
Older adults were disproportionately affected by COVID-19. The purpose of this study was to explore experiences of sudden-onset social isolation and factors that influenced it among social isolation in two groups of older adults. A qualitative thematic study with a survey component was conducted comparing 18 older adults in two groups: 12 reporting physical health challenges and 6 reporting no physical health challenges. Three qualitative themes describe experiences of (a) avoiding risk to personal health as the reason to postpone healthcare, (b) grieving church and church friends as a lost social connection, and (c) compound stress due to converging factors related to personal health, public health, racial justice movement and critical national events. Those with physical health challenges were less able to postpone seeking healthcare, suffered from compound stress, and were more likely to feel isolated when unable to participate in church activities. Religious, faith, or spiritual supports may be important buffers against social isolation during public health emergencies, especially for older adults with physical health challenges and when there is concurrent social unrest.
老年人受 COVID-19 的影响不成比例。本研究的目的是探索两组社会隔离的老年人中，突发社会隔离的经历以及影响其隔离的因素。这是一项定性主题研究，结合了调查部分，比较了两组 18 名老年人：12 名报告身体有健康挑战，6 名报告没有身体健康挑战。三个定性主题描述了（a）避免个人健康风险作为推迟医疗保健的原因，（b）失去教会和教会朋友作为失去的社会联系的悲痛，以及（c）因与个人健康、公共卫生、种族正义运动和关键国家事件相关的多种因素而导致的复合压力的经历。那些有身体健康挑战的人不太能够推迟寻求医疗保健，遭受复合压力，并且当无法参加教堂活动时，更有可能感到孤立。在公共卫生紧急情况下，宗教、信仰或精神支持可能是对抗社会隔离的重要缓冲，尤其是对于有身体健康挑战的老年人，以及当存在社会动荡时。
