Scopus Indexed Publications

Paper Details


Title
Loneliness and its correlates among Bangladeshi older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic
Author
Sabuj Kanti Mistry,
Email
Abstract

The present study aims to investigate the prevalence of loneliness and its associated factors among older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. This cross-sectional study was conducted in October 2020 among 1032 older Bangladeshi adults aged 60 years and above through telephone interviews. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect information on participants’ characteristics and COVID-19-related information. Meanwhile, the level of loneliness was measured using a 3-item UCLA Loneliness scale. More than half (51.5%) of the older adults experienced loneliness. We found that participants formally schooled [adjusted odds ratio (aOR = 0.62, 95% CI 0.43–0.88)] and received COVID-19-related information from health workers (aOR = 0.33, 95% CI 0.22–0.49) had lower odds of being lonely during the pandemic. However, older adults living alone (aOR: 2.57, 95% CI 1.34–4.94), residing distant from a health facility (aOR = 1.46, 95% CI 1.02–2.08) and in rural areas (aOR = 1.53, 95% CI 1.02–2.23) had higher odds of loneliness than their counterparts. Likewise, odds of loneliness were higher among those overwhelmed by COVID-19 (aOR = 1.93, 95% CI 1.29–2.86), who faced difficulty in earning (aOR = 1.77, 95% CI 1.18–2.67) and receiving routine medical care during pandemic (aOR = 2.94, 95% CI 1.78–4.87), and those perceiving requiring additional care during the pandemic (aOR = 6.01, 95% CI 3.80–9.49). The findings suggest that policies and plans should be directed to reduce loneliness among older adults who require additional care.

Keywords
Journal or Conference Name
Scientific Reports
Publication Year
2022
Indexing
scopus