According to that survey by the Spanish Organisation of Consumers and Users OCU, 47% of older people recognize that the coronavirus has significantly affected their mental health. specifically, a good part of them report problems sleeping (49%), sadness (46%), anxiety (31%), fear of dying (20%) and depression (19%). Physical condition has also been significantly affected for 39% of older people. And although going for walks is one of the few things they have continued to do, 32% have done so less frequently.
Now that the vaccination of the over-60s is coming to an end, the OCU is calling on the Government and the Autonomous Communities to reinforce face-to-face primary care for this group, paying special attention to mental health.
UDP Volunteers also carried out their own survey under the title “We want to know how you are”, enquiring about older people’s experience during the COVID-19 crisis.
The main results finds that the majority of the people surveyed (67%) did not need family or social support to carry out their daily tasks during the state of emergency, while 21% of the people surveyed said that they had the support of family members, especially their daughters and sons, granddaughters and grandsons, as well as social support: people from their own neighbourhood and volunteers.
What affected most people surveyed during the confinement was the impossibility of seeing their direct family members, especially their granddaughters and grandchildren, and the feelings of boredom due to the lack of physical social relations. There was also some concern about the situation in which their children find themselves or will find themselves financially.
Read UDP’s article (in Spanish)
