The Impact of Adverse News About the Gaza War on the Health of Iranian Elderly People: A Qualitative Study

TL;DR

This study explores how news about the Gaza war affects the health of elderly Iranians, finding both negative and adaptive responses.

Contribution

The study provides new insights into how media exposure during conflict impacts elderly health, emphasizing both vulnerability and resilience.

Findings

Elderly participants experienced emotional exhaustion and physical stress from war-related media exposure.

Resilience was observed through social connections and adaptive coping strategies like limiting media intake.

The study suggests measures like stress management and media content monitoring to protect elderly health.

Abstract

Studies on the responses of older people who have experienced disasters are contradictory, suggesting two opposing theoretical approaches: the vulnerability and resilience approaches. Therefore, this qualitative study examines the impact of the media on Iranian elderly people during the Gaza war in 2024.

This qualitative study employed purposive sampling to select 12 elderly participants aged 65 years and older. Data collection was done from September to December 2024 through semi‐structured interviews. The interviews were transcribed, and the data analysis was conducted following the steps outlined by Graneheim and Lundman.

Results revealed three major themes: emotional exhaustion, physical stress responses, and resilience through social connection. Participants reported symptoms such as sleep disturbances, elevated blood pressure, and persistent anxiety after prolonged exposure to war‐related media. Despite these challenges, some individuals demonstrated adaptive coping strategies, including limiting media intake and engaging in community support programs. These findings highlight the dual impact of media exposure—both distressing and mobilizing—among elderly populations.

It is necessary to strengthen the elderly's resilience to reduce the psychological and physical stress effects of war news on them. This can be achieved by practicing stress control and management, emphasizing social connections, developing a proper understanding of the media environment, and, most importantly, monitoring the contents broadcast by the media. Implementing a violent content label to give the audience the right to choose can help prevent media‐related risks. These measures are crucial for this purpose.