405 - Emotional Resilience of Older Adults During COVID-19: A Systematic Review of Studies of Stress and Well-Being

Abstract

Objectives:

To examine post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, and well-being in older adults under quarantine in the context of epidemics.

Methods:

A systematic review of CINAHL, Ovid EBM Reviews, Ovid Embase, Ovid Medline, Ovid PsycINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science databases from 2000-2020 was conducted. Keywords included coronavirus, epidemic, quarantine, stress, mental health, and similar terms. Included studies enrolled participants under quarantine, quantitatively measured of mental health or psychological well-being, and characterized outcomes by age.

Results:

Of 894 initial results, 20 studies met criteria and were included in the analysis. Studies comprise a total of 106,553 participants from eight countries, age range 6-100, involved two epidemics (COVID- 19, SARS), and used 27 tools used to assess psychological responses to quarantine. The majority (70%) of the studies utilized recruited participants through online surveys, utilizing open web and snowball recruitment. Of the 20 studies, one found greater distress in older adults relative to younger adults on a COVID-19 distress scale, one study found no significant differences, and 18 studies found lower negative outcomes in older participants in at least one metric.

Conclusions:

Older adults in this review generally have lower stress and less negative emotions under quarantine than younger adults. It is unknown how this compares to the pre-pandemic state. More representative and longitudinal studies are needed to better measure the impact of quarantine on the mental health of older adults.

Clinical Implications:

As existing scales may not capture the full extent of pandemic’s psychological effects on older adults, clinicians must be vigilant in monitoring older adults’ mental health in quarantine.