The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on well-being of seniors attending online programs at University of the Third Age: a follow-up study

Abstract

Background: Reports on psychological effects of quarantine during past outbreaks and pandemics showed that quarantined people were more likely to experience psychological problems than those who were not. It was also shown that there was an increase in anxiety, depression, and stress in all age groups during the COVID-19 pandemic. So, we investigated emotional states and quality of life as components of general well-being in older participants of University of the Third Age (U3A) attending online programs during the second year of the pandemic, and compared them with the pre-pandemic COVID-19 period.

Methods: This study was conducted among 27 participants of a U3A program. Data on sociodemographics, Charlson comorbidity index, the Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form (GDS-SF), The Geriatric Anxiety Scale (GAS), and Turkish version of World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument Older Adults Module (WHOQOL-OLD) were taken in September 2019 and September 2021.

Results: The median age of the participants was 68 (60-75) years (81.5% female). In the COVID-19 pandemic period; 'Death and dying' (except for 'Fear of pain before death' score), 'Intimacy' domain, and 'Social participation' domain scores of WHOQOL-OLD decreased compared to the pre-pandemic period (P < 0.001, P = 0.011, and P < 0.001, respectively) whereas the scores for GAS and GDS-SF were higher (P < 0.001 and P = 0.011). The reason for the decrease in 'Social participation' domain scores was the decrease in 'Satisfaction with opportunity to participate in community'. There was no significant difference in 'Autonomy' domain of WHOQOL-OLD (P = 0.598).

Conclusion: Although there was no change in 'Autonomy' domain among the participants of U3A before and during the pandemic period, anxiety and depression scores were higher in the second year of the COVID pandemic. Only a decrease in satisfaction with opportunity to participate in community might have significant impact on social participation.

Keywords: COVID-19; anxiety; depression; older; quality of life.