Physical and psychological changes of the COVID-19 infodemic by the older adult population.
Raísa Gonçalves Aquino, Eliane da Silva Pereira, Priscilla Alfradique de Souza and 4 others
PMID 39258604WHAT IT FOUND
Older adults reported physical and psychological effects from COVID-19 news.
Television affected the most people, and social-network exposure time differed among those affected. Younger older adults with complete elementary or high school education were most affected.
Key findings
01Television was the most cited source for COVID-19 news (85.1%), and it affected the largest number of older adults (n=177).
02Age and education were significantly associated with exposure patterns (p<0.001), and younger older adults with complete elementary or high school education reported physical or psychological effects.
03Among older adults affected by social-network news (n=111), exposure time was significantly associated with effects (p<0.001).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample was non-random and recruited through snowball methods, so it may over-represent older adults already connected to digital networks and cannot support causal claims. Participants had to be able to answer by digital media or telephone and have preserved cognitive function, so older adults without access or with cognitive impairment were excluded. The study is cross-sectional, so it cannot show that news exposure caused physical or psychological effects. The paper reports a broader survey plan with 2,976 respondents across eight municipalities but analyses 390 older adults, so the final older-adult sample is much smaller than the wider plan.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that watching COVID-19 news caused anxiety, depression, or physical symptoms. The study was cross-sectional, used a self-selected online sample, and measured self-reported effects.