The first post-pandemic Covid-19 study among the Romanian elderly

 

Surprising results of the first post-pandemic Covid-19 study among the Romanian elderly – “ Evaluation of the post pandemic physical-emotional state among seniors in Romania”

The conclusions of the study “Evaluation of the post pandemic physical-emotional state among seniors in Romania” were presented during a Round Table attended by doctors, academics, specialists in gerontology and representatives of public institutions within the Government , as well as NGOs and associations, involved in activities that support active ageing.

Among the guests were: Cristian Vasilcoiu – Secretary of State, Ministry of Labor and Social Solidarity, Doina Pârcălabu – Secretary of State, Ministry of Family, Youth and Equal Opportunities, Iulian Stănescu – researcher, Institute for Quality of Life Research, Romanian Academy , Dr. Marius Geantă – President of the Center for Innovation in Medicine.

The study was carried out in partnership with the “Institute for Active Aging”  Association and the
Furtună Dan Medical Center, by the Urban and Regional Sociology Center (CURS), between April and May 2022, on a sample of 1,200 respondents, residents in Romania, both in urban and rural areas, aged 50+. The margin of error is +/- 2.8%.

“Through this study, we aimed to evaluate the socio-emotional and health status of the elderly, as well as obtain data on their access to medical services and media information services, during the Covid 19 pandemic. The study is valuable due to its uniqueness, being the only certified study on the assessment of the effects of the pandemic among Romanian seniors, but also by the value of the data obtained, which can be used in the development of new projects or the generation of public policies for seniors“, said Lăcrămioara Frasineanu, Project Manager, Scientific Senate of the Foundation Dan Voiculescu.

 

CONCLUSIONS OF THE STUDY:

• The damage caused by Covid 19, depending on gender, infection, the forme of the disease and the recovery after the disease.

Conclusions:

• Women were more likely to have a first infection than men (82% vs. 79%), but disease recurrence was higher in men
• The disease was more prevalent among cardiac than among elderly with other chronic diseases (38% of women with chronic diseases were cardiac compared to 8% among overweight women. This highlights that heart diseases have the highest risk of complications.
• For the most part, symptoms were the same among both women and men, except for loss of taste and smell, which occurred 5 percent more among men.
• Among patients who had severe forms of the disease, the prevalence was 3% higher among women.

 

• The prevalence of antibiotics consumption without prescription

Conclusion:

• 69% of the elderly do not take antibiotics without a medical prescription, and in case of a medical problem, 82% prefer a medical consultation for a medical prescription.
• Access to medical services

Conclusion:

• The elderly continued to visit the doctor during the pandemic, take treatment for chronic diseases and collected tests. 37% went to the doctor 2-3 times a year, and 17% did not go at all.

 

• The impact of Covid 19 on interpersonal relationships

Conclusion:

• For 18% of the elderly, isolation was the main change produced by the pandemic, and 20% continued to meet with friends, several times a month.

 

• Mental impairment depending on gender

Conclusion:

• Emotionally, less than half of seniors were not affected by the pandemic. 40% of men and 37% of women were very little affected by the pandemic and an equal percentage of 7% said they were very affected by the pandemic.

 

• The increase in abuse of the elderly during the pandemic

Conclusion:

• Elderly people felt discriminated or marginalized (10% of respondents) by doctors (24%), due to isolation (22%), by restrictions (19%), by hostility to those around (5%), verbally (4%) and due to lack of access to a doctor (3%).
• 2% of the total number of respondents stated that they had been verbally assaulted, while 93% stated that they had not faced such situations
• 40% of the elderly considered that some of the measures imposed by the authorities were correct and necessary and others discriminatory, and 39% considered that most of them were correct and necessary. Only 14% considered that the respective measures were mostly discriminatory and/or abusive.

 

• Adapting to the changes imposed by the COVID 19 pandemic, regarding access to services and consumer products

Conclusions:

• Regarding the impossibility or limitation of accessing household payment services, 62% of respondents had no difficulties, and 12% did not need to perform such operations. The remaining 26% had difficulty dealing with doctors and hospitals, utility bills, taxes, local government or other bills.
• Similarly, 76% of respondents did not experience shortages in terms of lack of hygiene products, lack of medicine or food. 24% of respondents reported shortages, primarily of medical products, then of food or hygiene products.
• Related to the changes produced by the COVID 19 pandemic in the lives of the elderly, 45% of the people surveyed identified them in terms of social distance or isolation (18%), health (10%), fear (6%) and in lower percentages of stress, financial problems or restrictions. However, 55% of respondents either did not notice changes or could not identify them.

 

• Financial vulnerability during the COVID-19 pandemic

Conclusions:

• 59% of respondents stated that they are not employed.
• 35% believed that working remotely had a positive impact on their earnings.
• Almost equivalently, 47% of seniors stated that their current financial situation has worsened, compared to that before the outbreak of the COVID19 pandemic, and 49% that it has remained the same.

 

• Quality of social life and cultural consumption among seniors during the pandemic

Conclusions:

• The main social/cultural needs felt during the pandemic were time spent with family, children, grandchildren (51%), family events (41%) and socializing with friends (37%).
• 47% of respondents met with friends less often during the pandemic
• The most frequented place by people of the third age was the store or the market (37%).
• 96% of respondents did not engage in volunteer activities.
• 56% of respondents have not participated in a cultural event in the last 4 years.

 

• The relationship with state institutions

Conclusion:

• 50% of the participants thought that the way the state managed this crisis was a good one, and 45% think that the state communicated effectively with the population.

 

• Access to information media

Conclusion:

• The most used media channel by seniors remains TV. 94% of respondents use TV, 37% also use radio, 28% Internet.

 

• Confidence in the media

Conclusions:

• Television confers high trust among seniors. 94% percent of seniors prefer TV, while only 20% of respondents get information from social media.
• Regarding social media, women access social media more by 7 percent compared to men. The percentages decrease considerably depending on the age group, 27% of the 50-65 year old category access social networks, while only 6% of the 65+ category access social media.