Context Matters: Health Sensitivity in the Daily Lives of Older Adults Living Through the COVID-19 Pandemic

OBJECTIVES: Throughout 2021, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic caused renewed restrictions across Germany. Given the growing evidence that the pandemic negatively affects older adults’ health and well-being, this study investigated health sensitivity (emotional reactions to momentary health challenges) and its moderators (age, morbidity, perceived COVID-19 risks and worries) among older adults in their everyday lives during the second and third waves of the pandemic. METHODS: Multilevel models were applied to self-reported momentary health and affect data, collected 6 times per day across 7 consecutive days in 104 participants (M(age) = 76.35; range: 67–88 years), assessed between April and June 2021 (~300,000 COVID-19 cases in Germany at the time). RESULTS: Health sensitivity was unrelated to age and lower with higher morbidity. Importantly, older adults showed higher health sensitivity in moments when they also perceived a greater risk of contracting COVID-19. DISCUSSION: Findings suggest that sociocontextual factors related to the pandemic modulate emotional reactions to momentary health challenges, thereby underscoring the consequences of COVID-19 for older adults’ emotional experiences.