Features of everyday life of older people in Karelian villages during the coronavirus restrictions

SOCIOLOGY

Authors

  • Konstantin A. Galkin Sociological Institute of the RAS, Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 25/14, 7th Krasnoarmeyskaya st., Saint Petersburg, 190005, Russia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17072/2078-7898/2022-2-329-338

Keywords:

СOVID-19, older people,, rural areas, self-isolation of older people in rural areas, fears of experiencing self-isolation

Abstract

The article presents research into the peculiarities of life of older people in rural areas during the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, there were conducted 20 interviews and collected 15 observation diaries of older people living in rural areas in peripheral settlements of the Republic of Karelia. The study examines the isolation of older people and the peculiarities of isolation of older people who live in rural areas; the effects that social exclusion of older people living in rural areas creates; the possible ways of adaptation that could minimize this social exclusion. The article contributes to the emerging research into the peculiarities of understanding aging in the context of forced social exclusion caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. A thematic method was used in the analysis of interviews and observation diaries of older people. The paper identifies various fears and peculiarities of the perception of the lonely state associated with changes in habitual everyday life due to isolation, as well as sensations related to the informants’ perception of their body as excluded from previous life and as an invisible body confined in the space where self-isolation occurs. The research also analyzes the role of bodies and the features of restrictions that the COVID-19 pandemic creates for the elderly in the context of bodily restrictions and studies how self-isolation and various fears are associated with the bodily restrictions of older people.

Author Biography

Konstantin A. Galkin, Sociological Institute of the RAS, Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 25/14, 7th Krasnoarmeyskaya st., Saint Petersburg, 190005, Russia

Candidate of Sociology, Senior Researcher

References

Албегова И.Ф., Попова А.В. Государственная система стационарных учреждений социального обслуживания, защиты и поддержки населения как фактор социальной адаптации пожилых людей в изменяющейся России. Ярославль, 2009. 496 с.

Григорьева И.А., Петухова И.С. Сокращение социального исключения лиц пожилого возраста // Журнал социологии и социальной антропологии. 2018. Т. 21, № 2. С. 232–237. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31119/jssa.2018.21.2.9

Елютина М.Э., Трофимова О.А. Одинокое проживание и переживание одиночества в позднем возрасте // Журнал исследований социальной политики. 2017. Т. 15, № 1. С. 37–50. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31119/jssa.2017.20.1.3

Троцук И.В. Как стать счастливым: новые смыслы одиночества в современном мире // Социология власти. 2014. № 3. С. 233–247.

Armitage R., Nellums L.B. COVID-19 and the consequences of isolating the older // The Lancet Public Health. 2020. Vol. 5, iss. 5. P. 256. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/s2468-2667(20)30061-x

Barth J., Schneider S., Von Känel R. Lack of social support in the etiology and the prognosis of coronary heart disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis // Psychosomatic Medicine. 2010. Vol. 72, iss. 3. P. 229–238. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/psy.0b013e3181d01611

Behnke E.A. Body // Contributions to Phenomenology. Vol. 18: Encyclopedia of Phenomenology / ed. by L. Embree. Boston, MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1997. P. 66–71.

Berg-Weger M., Morley J.E. Loneliness and social isolation in older adults during the Covid-19 pandemic: Implications for gerontological social work // The Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging. 2020. Vol. 24, iss. 5. P. 456–458. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-020-1366-8

Chen L.K. Older adults and COVID-19 pandemic: Resilience matters // Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics. 2020. Vol. 89. URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167494320301187?via%3Dihub (accessed: 18.01.2022). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2020.104124

Csordas T.J. Embodiment and cultural phenomenology // Perspectives on Embodiment: The Intersections of Nature and Culture / ed. by G. Weiss, H.F. Haber. N.Y.: Routledge, 1999. P. 143–162.

Csordas T.J. Embodiment as a Paradigm for Anthropology // Body/Meaning/Healing. N.Y.: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002. P. 58–87. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-08286-2_3

Krendl A.C., Perry B.L. The impact of sheltering in place during the COVID-19 pandemic on older adults’ social and mental well-being // The Journals of Gerontology: Series B. 2021. Vol. 76, iss. 2. P. 53–58. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbaa110

Matias T., Dominski F.H., Marks D.F. Human needs in COVID-19 isolation // Journal of Health Psychology. 2020. Vol. 25, iss. 7. P. 871–882. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105320925149

Santini Z.I., Jose P.E, Cornwell E.Y., Koyanagi A. et al. Social disconnectedness, perceived isolation, and symptoms of depression and anxiety among older Americans (NSHAP): a longitudinal mediation analysis // The Lancet Public Health. 2020. Vol. 5, iss. 1. P. 62–70. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/s2468-2667(19)30230-0

Shankar A., McMunn A., Demakakos P., Hamer M., Steptoe A. Social isolation and loneliness: Prospective associations with functional status in older adults // Health Psychology. 2017. Vol. 36, iss. 2. P. 179–187. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0000437

Steptoe A., Shankar A., Demakakos P., Wardle J. Social isolation, loneliness, and all-cause mortality in older men and women // Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2013. Vol. 110, iss. 15. P. 5797–5801. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1219686110

Tanskanen J., Anttila T. A prospective study of social isolation, loneliness, and mortality in Finland // American Journal of Public Health. 2016. Vol. 106, iss. 11. P. 2042–2048. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2016.303431

Valtorta N., Hanratty B. Loneliness, isolation and the health of older adults: do we need a new research agenda? // Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 2012. Vol. 105, iss. 12. P. 518–522. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1258/jrsm.2012.120128

Van Tilburg T.G., Steinmetz S., Stolte E., Van der Roest H., Vries D.H. de. Loneliness and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: A study among Dutch older adults // The Journals of Gerontology: Series B. 2021. Vol. 76, iss. 7. P. 249–255. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbaa111

Victor C., Scambler S., Bond J., Bowling A. Being alone in later life: loneliness, social isolation and living alone // Reviews in Clinical Gerontology. 2000. Vol. 10, iss. 4. P. 407–417. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/s0959259800104101

References

Albegova, I.F. and Popova, A.V. (2009). Gosudarstvennaya sistema statsionarnykh uchrezhdeniy sotsial’nogo obsluzhivaniya, zaschity i podderzhki naseleniya kak faktor sotsial’noy adaptatsii pozhilykh lyudey v izmenyayuscheysya Rossii [The state system of stationary institutions of social service, protection and support of the population as a factor of social adaptation of older people in changing Russia]. Yaroslavl, 496 p.

Armitage, R. and Nellums, L.B. (2020). COVID-19 and the consequences of isolating the older. The Lancet Public Health. Vol. 5, iss. 5, p. 256. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/s2468-2667(20)30061-x

Barth, J., Schneider, S. and Von Känel, R. (2010). Lack of social support in the etiology and the prognosis of coronary heart disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychosomatic Medicine. Vol. 72, iss. 3, pp. 229–238. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/psy.0b013e3181d01611

Behnke, E.A. (1997). Body. L. Embree (ed.) Contributions to phenomenology. Vol. 18: Encyclopedia of Phenomenology. Boston, MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 66–71.

Berg-Weger, M. and Morley, J.E. (2020). Loneliness and social isolation in older adults during the covid-19 pandemic: implications for gerontological social work. The Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging. Vol. 24, iss. 5, pp. 456–458. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-020-1366-8

Chen, L.K. (2020). Older adults and COVID-19 pandemic: resilience matters. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics. Vol. 89. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167494320301187?via%3Dihub (accessed 18.01.2022). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2020.104124

Csordas, T.J. (1999). Embodiment and cultural phenomenology. G. Weiss, H.F. Haber (eds.) Perspectives on embodiment: The intersections of nature and culture. New York: Routledge Publ., pp. 143–162.

Csordas, T.J. (2002). Embodiment as a paradigm for anthropology. Body/Meaning/Healing. New York: Palgrave Macmillan Publ., pp. 58–87. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-08286-2_3

Elyutina, M.E. and Trofimova, O.A. (2017). [Lone living and experiencing loneliness in late life]. Zhurnal issledovaniy sotsial’noy politiki [The Journal of Social Policy Studies]. Vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 37–50. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31119/jssa.2017.20.1.3

Grigor’eva, I.A. and Petukhova, I.S. (2018). [Reducing old-age social exclusion]. Zhurnal sotsiologii i sotsial’noy antropologii[The Journal of Sociology and Social Anthropology]. Vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 232–237. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31119/jssa.2018.21.2.9

Krendl, A.C. and Perry, B.L. (2021). The impact of sheltering in place during the COVID-19 pandemic on older adults’ social and mental well-being. The Journals of Gerontology. Vol. 76, iss. 2, pp. 53–58. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbaa110

Matias, T., Dominski, F.H. and Marks, D.F. (2020). Human needs in COVID-19 isolation. Journal of Health Psychology. Vol. 25, iss. 7, pp. 871–882. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105320925149

Santini, Z.I., Jose, P.E, Cornwell, E.Y., Koyanagi, A. et al. (2020). Social disconnectedness, perceived isolation, and symptoms of depression and anxiety among older Americans (NSHAP): a longitudinal mediation analysis. The Lancet Public Health. Vol. 5, iss. 1, pp. 62–70. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/s2468-2667(19)30230-0

Shankar, A., McMunn, A., Demakakos, P., Hamer, M. and Steptoe, A. (2017). Social isolation and loneliness: prospective associations with functional status in older adults. Health Psychology. Vol. 36, iss. 2, pp. 179–187. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0000437

Steptoe, A., Shankar, A., Demakakos, P. and Wardle, J. (2013). Social isolation, loneliness, and all-cause mortality in older men and women. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Vol. 110, iss. 15, pp. 5797–5801. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1219686110

Tanskanen, J. and Anttila, T. (2016). A prospective study of social isolation, loneliness, and mortality in Finland. American Journal of Public Health. Vol. 106, iss. 11, pp. 2042–2048. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2016.303431

Trotsuk, I.V. (2014). [How to become happy: new meanings of loneliness in the modern world]. Sotsiologiya vlasti [Sociology of Power]. No. 3, pp. 233–247.

Valtorta, N. and Hanratty, B. (2012). Loneliness, isolation and the health of older adults: do we need a new research agenda? Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. Vol. 105, iss. 12, pp. 518–522. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1258/jrsm.2012.120128

Van Tilburg, T.G., Steinmetz, S., Stolte, E., van der Roest, H. and de Vries, D.H. (2021). Loneliness and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: a study among Dutch older adults. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B. Vol. 76, pp. 249–255. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbaa111

Victor, C., Scambler, S., Bond, J. and Bowling, A. (2000). Being alone in later life: loneliness, social isolation and living alone. Reviews in Clinical Gerontology. Vol. 10, iss. 4, pp. 407–417. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/s0959259800104101

Published

2022-06-29

Issue

Section

Статьи