Social isolation, social support, and psychological distress among the elderly during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study from central India

• Published in: Indian journal of public health 2022-10, Vol.66 (4), p.451-457
• Main Authors: Sujiv, Akkilagunta, Kalaiselvi, S, Tiwari, Mithilesh, Deshmukh, Pradeep
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 Vaccines; Cross-Sectional Studies; Disease control; Female; Humans; India - epidemiology; Infection; kessler-10; lubben's social network scale; Male; Mental health; multidimensional scale of perceived social support; Older people; pandemic; Pandemics; Psychological Distress; Psychological stress; Social aspects; social connectedness; Social Isolation; Social networks; Social Support; Socioeconomics; Stress (Psychology); Viral diseases
• ISSN: 0019-557X; 2229-7693
• DOI: 10.4103/ijph.ijph_482_22

Background: In the present COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing measures have been advised to protect elderly from infection which might have led to poor mental health state. Objective: A cross-sectional study was carried out to assess the magnitude of social isolation, social support, and psychological distress among the elderly during the COVID-19 pandemic in Central India. Methods: The estimated sample size was 1535. The sample was equally distributed among rural, semiurban, and urban strata of districts. Social isolation was measured using Lubben's Social Network Scale-Revised, and psychological distress was assessed using Kessler K10 Psychological Distress Scale. Other parameters such as a history of COVID-19 illness and COVID-19 vaccination were assessed. Results: The prevalence of social isolation was higher at 23.6% during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to before the pandemic period (15.0%). The majority perceived a high level of social support during the pandemic (55.3%) and 39.9% received moderate support. Overall, 18.4% of the respondents had psychological distress. Out of them, 56.2% had mild distress, 20.1% had moderate distress, and 23.7% had severe distress. Significant predictors of psychological distress were female gender, lower socioeconomic status, history of COVID-19 disease among the participants, social isolation, and lack of social support. Conclusion: Social isolation and lack of social support were significant predictors of psychological distress among the elderly during the pandemic.