In their own words: The voices of Older Irish people in the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Since COVID-19 was declared an international pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in March 2020 (HSE, 2021), older people have carried the greatest burden of serious infection and death from the virus. Internationally, almost 96% of deaths due to COVID-19 infection occurred among those over the age of 70 (Ioannidis, Axfors, and Contopoulos-Ioannidis, 2021). Within the Republic of Ireland to date, 93% of deaths have occurred in this age group (HSE, 2021). This age group is moreover disproportionally affected by serious infections leading to hospital admissions. In addition to mortality and physical illness, the pandemic’s effect on older Irish people’s mental health has been documented in a previous COVID-19 study by TILDA researchers (Ward, O'Mahoney, & Kenny, 2021). This showed that 21% of participants had clinically meaningful levels of depressive symptoms, while 29% reported stress levels that were significantly high. The overall life satisfaction was relatively low among TILDA participants, with 37% reporting low levels of satisfaction with life. Such statistics cause concern for the health and well- being of older people, but much evidence suggests that the experience of and resilience to crises among older people can vary considerably (Chen, 2021). Older people in high-risk groups, particularly those suffering from one or more chronic illnesses, are much more likely to experience challenges regarding their physical and mental health in times of crisis. A variety of factors can mitigate these challenges, however. High levels of intrinsic personal resilience can act as a buffer against ill- health and personal challenges among older people (Windle, Woods, & Markland, 2010), and levels of personal resilience have been significantly associated with the strength and quality of older peoples’ family and social networks (Wells, 2010). Likewise, while the restrictions of the pandemic affected all older people equally, some initial evidence suggests those older adults more familiar with information technologies and social media were better-placed to find alternatives to face-to-face contact and medical engagement (Age NI, 2020). This likely reduced their concern regarding the prospect of a personal crisis occurring during the period of high restrictions. This variety in the capacity to cope with and adjust to the new normal during a crisis period requires an additional insight into the lived experience among older people. One recent piece of qualitative research conducted by Age Northern Ireland with a small sample of older people showed the variety rather than homogeneity of experiences, with some finding the isolation of lockdown more challenging than others (Age NI, 2020). Few studies to date, however, have explored older people’s experience of COVID-19 in this way, i.e. by directly soliciting personal responses. TILDA was ideally placed to do so by reaching out to its nationally representative sample of older people in Ireland and requesting their experience of the pandemic. This report presents a summary of those experiences, grouped into main themes as reported by TILDA participants in their own words during the first period of lockdown. Presenting these voices not only acknowledges the value of such experiences but may also serve to challenge negative perceptions and stereotypes of older people that were a feature of some narratives in the period covered by this research.