Exploring Loneliness, Fear and Depression among Older Adults during the COVID-19 Era: A Cross-Sectional Study in Greek Provincial Towns
Background: With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, life changed abruptly for older adults in Greece. Social isolation, lockdowns, the fear of serious illness and death, all contributed to an increased risk of developing depression. Objective: To explore the presence and severity of depression in o...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Healthcare |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/11/9/1234 |
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| author | Lamprini Moustakopoulou Theodoula Adamakidou Sotirios Plakas Marianna Drakopoulou Paraskevi Apostolara Alexandra Mantoudi Dimos Mastrogiannis Afroditi Zartaloudi Stelios Parissopoulos Alexandra Koreli Marianna Mantzorou |
| author_facet | Lamprini Moustakopoulou Theodoula Adamakidou Sotirios Plakas Marianna Drakopoulou Paraskevi Apostolara Alexandra Mantoudi Dimos Mastrogiannis Afroditi Zartaloudi Stelios Parissopoulos Alexandra Koreli Marianna Mantzorou |
| author_sort | Lamprini Moustakopoulou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, life changed abruptly for older adults in Greece. Social isolation, lockdowns, the fear of serious illness and death, all contributed to an increased risk of developing depression. Objective: To explore the presence and severity of depression in older adults in Greek provincial towns during the pandemic and to explore any possible relationships with loneliness and fear. Methods: A convenience sample of 200 participants aged >65, completed a socio-demographic form, the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale, the Geriatric Depression-15 Scale (GDS-15) and the COVID-19 Fear Scale (FCV-19S). Data were collected from April to May 2022. Results: The average age of participants was 76.6 years and 35.5% of the participants presented depressive symptoms (mean prevalenceof depression 5 ± 3.7). A moderate to low level of loneliness (mean value 39 ± 11.3) and a moderate level of COVID-19 fear (mean value 18.9 ± 6.5) were also experienced. Higher levels of loneliness were found among participants with lower perceived health status and among those participants registered in Primary Health and Social Care (PHSC) services. Loneliness was positively correlated with depression (r = 0.7, <i>p</i> < 0.001), and increased loneliness and depression were associated with an increase in fear of COVID-19 (r = 0.2, <i>p</i> = 0.01 for both). Conclusions: During the pandemic, older adults experienced loneliness, fear of COVID-19 and depression which were positively associated with each other. It is imperative to develop PHSC policies that are aimed at addressing the mental health problems of the older population, which have been caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, through developing their resilience, offering psychological support and promoting social connections. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:18:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9772d857399946dcbc00a612c8760964 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9032 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:18:17Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Healthcare |
| spelling | doaj.art-9772d857399946dcbc00a612c87609642023-11-17T22:57:15ZengMDPI AGHealthcare2227-90322023-04-01119123410.3390/healthcare11091234Exploring Loneliness, Fear and Depression among Older Adults during the COVID-19 Era: A Cross-Sectional Study in Greek Provincial TownsLamprini Moustakopoulou0Theodoula Adamakidou1Sotirios Plakas2Marianna Drakopoulou3Paraskevi Apostolara4Alexandra Mantoudi5Dimos Mastrogiannis6Afroditi Zartaloudi7Stelios Parissopoulos8Alexandra Koreli9Marianna Mantzorou10MSc Program in Community and Public Health Nursing, Nursing Department, School of Health and Care Sciences, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, GreeceMSc Program in Community and Public Health Nursing, Nursing Department, School of Health and Care Sciences, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, GreeceMSc Program in Community and Public Health Nursing, Nursing Department, School of Health and Care Sciences, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, GreeceMSc Program in Community and Public Health Nursing, Nursing Department, School of Health and Care Sciences, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, GreeceMSc Program in Community and Public Health Nursing, Nursing Department, School of Health and Care Sciences, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, GreeceMSc Program in Community and Public Health Nursing, Nursing Department, School of Health and Care Sciences, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, GreeceMSc Program in Community and Public Health Nursing, Nursing Department, School of Health and Care Sciences, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, GreeceMSc Program in Community and Public Health Nursing, Nursing Department, School of Health and Care Sciences, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, GreeceMSc Program in Community and Public Health Nursing, Nursing Department, School of Health and Care Sciences, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, GreeceMSc Program in Community and Public Health Nursing, Nursing Department, School of Health and Care Sciences, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, GreeceMSc Program in Community and Public Health Nursing, Nursing Department, School of Health and Care Sciences, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, GreeceBackground: With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, life changed abruptly for older adults in Greece. Social isolation, lockdowns, the fear of serious illness and death, all contributed to an increased risk of developing depression. Objective: To explore the presence and severity of depression in older adults in Greek provincial towns during the pandemic and to explore any possible relationships with loneliness and fear. Methods: A convenience sample of 200 participants aged >65, completed a socio-demographic form, the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale, the Geriatric Depression-15 Scale (GDS-15) and the COVID-19 Fear Scale (FCV-19S). Data were collected from April to May 2022. Results: The average age of participants was 76.6 years and 35.5% of the participants presented depressive symptoms (mean prevalenceof depression 5 ± 3.7). A moderate to low level of loneliness (mean value 39 ± 11.3) and a moderate level of COVID-19 fear (mean value 18.9 ± 6.5) were also experienced. Higher levels of loneliness were found among participants with lower perceived health status and among those participants registered in Primary Health and Social Care (PHSC) services. Loneliness was positively correlated with depression (r = 0.7, <i>p</i> < 0.001), and increased loneliness and depression were associated with an increase in fear of COVID-19 (r = 0.2, <i>p</i> = 0.01 for both). Conclusions: During the pandemic, older adults experienced loneliness, fear of COVID-19 and depression which were positively associated with each other. It is imperative to develop PHSC policies that are aimed at addressing the mental health problems of the older population, which have been caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, through developing their resilience, offering psychological support and promoting social connections.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/11/9/1234COVID-19 pandemicdepressionfearlonelinessolder adults |
| spellingShingle | Lamprini Moustakopoulou Theodoula Adamakidou Sotirios Plakas Marianna Drakopoulou Paraskevi Apostolara Alexandra Mantoudi Dimos Mastrogiannis Afroditi Zartaloudi Stelios Parissopoulos Alexandra Koreli Marianna Mantzorou Exploring Loneliness, Fear and Depression among Older Adults during the COVID-19 Era: A Cross-Sectional Study in Greek Provincial Towns Healthcare COVID-19 pandemic depression fear loneliness older adults |
| title | Exploring Loneliness, Fear and Depression among Older Adults during the COVID-19 Era: A Cross-Sectional Study in Greek Provincial Towns |
| title_full | Exploring Loneliness, Fear and Depression among Older Adults during the COVID-19 Era: A Cross-Sectional Study in Greek Provincial Towns |
| title_fullStr | Exploring Loneliness, Fear and Depression among Older Adults during the COVID-19 Era: A Cross-Sectional Study in Greek Provincial Towns |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring Loneliness, Fear and Depression among Older Adults during the COVID-19 Era: A Cross-Sectional Study in Greek Provincial Towns |
| title_short | Exploring Loneliness, Fear and Depression among Older Adults during the COVID-19 Era: A Cross-Sectional Study in Greek Provincial Towns |
| title_sort | exploring loneliness fear and depression among older adults during the covid 19 era a cross sectional study in greek provincial towns |
| topic | COVID-19 pandemic depression fear loneliness older adults |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/11/9/1234 |
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