Loading...
1 results
Search Results
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
- Mentally healthy living after pandemic social distancing: a study of older Canadians reveals helpful anxiety reduction strategiesPublication . Low, Gail; Gutman, Gloria M; Gao, Zhiwei; Bacadini França, Alex; von Humboldt, Sofia; VITORINO, LUCIANO; Wilson, Donna M.; Allana, HunainaBackground: Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, older Canadians werethe most at risk of severe physical harm, including death, and their return topost-COVID life was expected to be especially anxiety-provoking. A studywas conducted to obtain nationally representative evidence of older Cana-dians’ self-perceived anxiety levels and their strategies to manage or miti-gate it as public health restrictions were lifting.Materials and Methods: This study had a cross-sectional descriptivedesign. An e-survey was used to collect data from 1327 Canadians aged60+ stratified by age, sex, and education to resemble the larger generalpopulation. Participants completed the Geriatric Anxiety Scale (GAS-10)and indicated which of the 16 Centre for Addictions and Mental Health’s(2022) Coping with Stress and Anxiety strategies they were using to man-age or mitigate their anxiety when social distancing was lifting. Descriptivestatistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression analysis were usedto explore the data.Results: While, on average, older Canadians were mildly anxious, nearlyone-quarter of responders rated their anxiety as severe. Age, sex, perceivedhealth, were statistically significant correlates of anxiety. Six coping strate-gies were associated with significantly lower anxiety scores. Moreover,accepting some fear and anxiety as normal, challenging worries and anx-ious thoughts, and practising relaxation/meditation appeared to increaseanxiety.Conclusion: Older Canadians used multiple strategies to manage or miti-gate their anxiety, and seemingly, with more successful than detrimentaltries. Practitioners have much to learn and understand about older people’smental health promotion efforts after social distancing, now and for futurepandemics