‘I feel like this will never end’: mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic among older adults with chronic conditions

Abstract

Objectives

The COVID-19 pandemic may have a negative impact on mental health, especially among older adults with chronic conditions who are more vulnerable to severe illness. In this qualitative study, we evaluated how the pandemic has impacted the ways that adults aged 50 and older with chronic conditions managed their mental health.

Methods

A total of 492 adults (M = 64.95 years, SD = 8.91, range = 50–94) who lived in Michigan (82.1%) and 33 other U.S. states completed one anonymous online survey between 14 May 14 and 9 July 2020. Open-ended responses were coded to ascertain relevant concepts and were reduced to develop major themes.

Results

We determined four main themes. The COVID-19 pandemic impacted how participants took care of their mental health through: (1) pandemic-related barriers to social interaction; (2) pandemic-related routine changes; (3) pandemic-related stress; and (4) pandemic-related changes to mental health service use.

Conclusion

This study indicates that older adults with chronic conditions experienced various challenges to managing their mental health in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also showed considerable resilience. The findings identify potential targets of personalized interventions to preserve their well-being during this pandemic and in future public health crises.

Keywords:

• Chronic illness
• coping
• coronavirus
• qualitative data analysis

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Summer N. Meyers, Vanessa Y. Lee, and Annie N. Zhou for their assistance in coding the qualitative data.

Disclosure statement

The authors report that there are no competing interests to declare.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health under Grant number K01 AG059829; the National Institutes of Health under Grant P30 AG015281; the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences under Grant UL1TR002240; and the Michigan Center for Urban African American Aging Research.