One of the anti-epidemic measures in the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 in Serbia was the mandatory complete ban on movement for people over 65 years of age. Two main stress factors affecting their health have been identified: intensive media coverage of the new disease and total physical and even social isolation of the elderly. The aim of this study was to assess the immediate impact of these anti-epidemic measures to combat the COVID-19 epidemic in Serbia on the health of people over 65 years old and to recognize protective factors for their health in the conditions of their obligatory isolation. The cross-sectional study was conducted on a 20‰ sample of inhabitants over 65 (184 in total) in the urban part of the city of Kruševac, in the central part of Serbia, during April and May 2020. Anti-epidemic measures to combat the COVID-19 epidemic have been associated with deteriorating health in a significantly large proportion of the elderly in the sample (approximately 84%), such as unreasonable fatigue, tension, difficulties performing routine activities due to immobility, concerns, sleeping disorders, and hypertensive episodes. Gender, higher education, and material status were not related to protection and emotional well-being, but some personality factors are related to stress resilience. The protective personality factors for health are the respondents' inclination toward hope, having a purpose in life, faith, optimism, interest, as well a high appreciation of positive emotions in the respondent's life (love, joy, enthusiasm, closeness, and belonging) and having a fulfilled emotional life.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
4
Min Du, Min Liu, Yaping Wang, Chenyuan Qin, Jue Liu
(2024)
Global burden of sleep disturbances among older adults and the disparities by geographical regions and pandemic periods
SSM - Population Health, 25()
10.1016/j.ssmph.2023.101588
Weilin Xu, Baobao Zhao, Cancan Jin
(2024)
A meta-analysis of the relationship between personality traits and cyberbullying
Aggression and Violent Behavior, 79()
10.1016/j.avb.2024.101992
Dmytro Boiko, Oksana Mats, Liliia Zhyvotovska, Larysa Herasymenko, Andrii Skrypnikov
(2023)
Psychoeducational training for healthcare workers psychoeducational training for reducing the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers
AFMN Biomedicine, 40(4)
10.5937/afmnai40-42652
Tanja Prodovic, Biljana Prodovic-Milojkovic, Miljan Krstovic, Scepan Sinanovic, Sasa Bubanj
(2023)
Palliative care - illness, dying, and death as biological-medical and socio-cultural phenomena
Srpski arhiv za celokupno lekarstvo, 151(1-2)
10.2298/SARH220228111PThe statements, opinions and data contained in the journal are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of the publisher and the editor(s). We stay neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.