Promoting health among older adults during COVID-19: Examining past and present functional factors

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic posed multiple challenges for the older adults' population, including physical and mental health issues. A pandemic that continues to affect older adults worldwide presented a significant challenge to understanding what functional factors are related to their physical and mental health. Various factors affect a person's physical and mental health, but how individual function in daily life is of prime importance.

Objective: To examine past and present functional factors and their relationships with physical and mental health of older adults toward future disease prevention and health promotion. Methodology: Data were collected from 204 adults ages 60 and above using an online platform (Qualtrics). The participants reported their physical health symptoms and state anxiety level using the State-Trait Personally Inventory. The participants also completed questionnaires about past functional factors (negative life events and Childhood Daily Functional Self-Actualization) as well as present functional factors (Adulthood Daily Functional Self-Actualization, Sleep Quality, and Daily Living questionnaires).

Results: Structural equation modeling revealed that both past and present characteristics were positively or negatively related to participants’ physical health and anxiety, χ2(5, N = 189) = 11.72, p = .04, normed fit index = .97, comparative fit index = .98, root mean square error of approximation = .08.

Conclusion: These results shed light on the understanding of past and present functional features that can provide insight into how humans function in daily life, which may enable them to live a healthier life.

Audience Take Away Notes: 

• By becoming more aware of available resources, a better understanding of past and present factors may assist older adults in coping with stressful periods, such as COVID-19.
• Planning interventions for the older adults in times of crisis should consider these results, which emphasize past and present factors related to their physical and mental health.
• The findings pertain to the COVID-19 period, but they can also be applied to a routine period. Older adults can experience stressful events in their lives. During COVID-19, we had the opportunity to examine what happens during a crisis. As a result, the findings could apply to other stressful periods as well.