The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on frail older people ageing in place alone in two Italian cities: Functional limitations, care arrangements and available services

TL;DR

This study examined how the 2020 lockdown affected frail older people living alone in two Italian cities during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Contribution

The study provides insights into the differential impacts of the pandemic on older adults in two distinct Italian urban settings.

Findings

The lockdown had a negative impact on frail older people living alone, with varying effects in Ancona and Brescia.

Brescia showed better resilience in home care services, while Ancona relied more on family support.

Access to health services was a major problem in Ancona during the pandemic.

Abstract

The study aimed to explore and compare effects of lockdown, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, on frail older people living alone at home in Brescia and Ancona, two urban cities located respectively in Northern and Central Italy. This country was the Western epicenter of the first wave of the pandemic (February-May 2020), which affected the two cities differently as for infections, with a more severe impact on the former. A follow-up study of the IN-AGE research project (2019) was carried out in July-September 2020, by means of telephone interviews, involving 41 respondents. Semi-structured questions focused on the effects of the first wave of the pandemic on their mobility and functional limitations, available care arrangements, and access to health services. The lockdown and social distancing measures overall negatively impacted on frail older people living alone, to a different extent in Ancona and Brescia, with a better resilience of home care services in Brescia, and a greater support from the family in Ancona, where however major problems in accessing health services also emerged. Even though the study was exploratory only, with a small sample that cannot be considered as representative of the population, and despite differences between the two cities, findings overall suggested that enhancing home care services, and supporting older people in accessing health services, could allow ageing in place, especially in emergency times.

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