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Physical and mental health of older people while cocooning during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND: Cocooning or shielding, i.e. staying at home and reducing face-to-face interaction with other people, was an important part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic for older people. However, concerns exist regarding the long-term adverse effects cocooning may have on their physical and...

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Autores principales: Bailey, L, Ward, M, DiCosimo, A, Baunta, S, Cunningham, C, Romero-Ortuno, R, Kenny, R A, Purcell, R, Lannon, R, McCarroll, K, Nee, R, Robinson, D, Lavan, A, Briggs, R
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Oxford University Press 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7928635/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33471128
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/qjmed/hcab015
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author Bailey, L
Ward, M
DiCosimo, A
Baunta, S
Cunningham, C
Romero-Ortuno, R
Kenny, R A
Purcell, R
Lannon, R
McCarroll, K
Nee, R
Robinson, D
Lavan, A
Briggs, R
author_facet Bailey, L
Ward, M
DiCosimo, A
Baunta, S
Cunningham, C
Romero-Ortuno, R
Kenny, R A
Purcell, R
Lannon, R
McCarroll, K
Nee, R
Robinson, D
Lavan, A
Briggs, R
author_sort Bailey, L
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Cocooning or shielding, i.e. staying at home and reducing face-to-face interaction with other people, was an important part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic for older people. However, concerns exist regarding the long-term adverse effects cocooning may have on their physical and mental health. AIM: To examine health trajectories and healthcare utilization while cocooning in a cohort of community-dwelling people aged ≥70 years. DESIGN: Survey of 150 patients (55% female, mean age 80 years and mean Clinical Frailty Scale Score 4.8) attending ambulatory medical services in a large urban university hospital. METHODS: The survey covered four broad themes: access to healthcare services, mental health, physical health and attitudes to COVID-19 restrictions. Survey data were presented descriptively. RESULTS: Almost 40% (59/150) reported that their mental health was ‘worse’ or ‘much worse’ while cocooning, while over 40% (63/150) reported a decline in their physical health. Almost 70% (104/150) reported exercising less frequently or not exercising at all. Over 57% (86/150) of participants reported loneliness with 1 in 8 (19/150) reporting that they were lonely ‘very often’. Half of participants (75/150) reported a decline in their quality of life. Over 60% (91/150) agreed with government advice for those ≥70 years but over 40% (61/150) reported that they disliked the term ‘cocooning’. CONCLUSIONS: Given the likelihood of further restrictions in coming months, clear policies and advice for older people around strategies to maintain social engagement, manage loneliness and continue physical activity and access timely medical care and rehabilitation services should be a priority.
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spelling pubmed-79286352021-03-04 Physical and mental health of older people while cocooning during the COVID-19 pandemic Bailey, L Ward, M DiCosimo, A Baunta, S Cunningham, C Romero-Ortuno, R Kenny, R A Purcell, R Lannon, R McCarroll, K Nee, R Robinson, D Lavan, A Briggs, R QJM Original Papers BACKGROUND: Cocooning or shielding, i.e. staying at home and reducing face-to-face interaction with other people, was an important part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic for older people. However, concerns exist regarding the long-term adverse effects cocooning may have on their physical and mental health. AIM: To examine health trajectories and healthcare utilization while cocooning in a cohort of community-dwelling people aged ≥70 years. DESIGN: Survey of 150 patients (55% female, mean age 80 years and mean Clinical Frailty Scale Score 4.8) attending ambulatory medical services in a large urban university hospital. METHODS: The survey covered four broad themes: access to healthcare services, mental health, physical health and attitudes to COVID-19 restrictions. Survey data were presented descriptively. RESULTS: Almost 40% (59/150) reported that their mental health was ‘worse’ or ‘much worse’ while cocooning, while over 40% (63/150) reported a decline in their physical health. Almost 70% (104/150) reported exercising less frequently or not exercising at all. Over 57% (86/150) of participants reported loneliness with 1 in 8 (19/150) reporting that they were lonely ‘very often’. Half of participants (75/150) reported a decline in their quality of life. Over 60% (91/150) agreed with government advice for those ≥70 years but over 40% (61/150) reported that they disliked the term ‘cocooning’. CONCLUSIONS: Given the likelihood of further restrictions in coming months, clear policies and advice for older people around strategies to maintain social engagement, manage loneliness and continue physical activity and access timely medical care and rehabilitation services should be a priority. Oxford University Press 2021-01-20 /pmc/articles/PMC7928635/ /pubmed/33471128 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/qjmed/hcab015 Text en © The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Association of Physicians. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Original Papers
Bailey, L
Ward, M
DiCosimo, A
Baunta, S
Cunningham, C
Romero-Ortuno, R
Kenny, R A
Purcell, R
Lannon, R
McCarroll, K
Nee, R
Robinson, D
Lavan, A
Briggs, R
Physical and mental health of older people while cocooning during the COVID-19 pandemic
title Physical and mental health of older people while cocooning during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_full Physical and mental health of older people while cocooning during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_fullStr Physical and mental health of older people while cocooning during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_full_unstemmed Physical and mental health of older people while cocooning during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_short Physical and mental health of older people while cocooning during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_sort physical and mental health of older people while cocooning during the covid-19 pandemic
topic Original Papers
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7928635/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33471128
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/qjmed/hcab015
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