Assert the Support or Alert the Depart: A Critical Review on Challenging Encounters of Senior Citizens during Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

COVID-19 was spreading in the Sri Lankan context unprecedentedly fast. The elders were identified as a group at risk of this pandemic since the first wave. Thus, psycho-social encounters with elders are significant in understanding the efficiency of COVID-19 management. The objectives of this study are to identify the psycho-social encounters of elders during COVID-19 and examine their perceptions towards professional interventions in managing COVID-19 at the community level in the Sri Lankan context. The study was exploratory in nature. 20 elders above 60 years of age were selected using a purposive sampling method. Data was collected through in-depth interviews and analyzed through the narrative analysis method. As revealed in the data, the elders experience an extreme psycho-social fear of the pandemic. Key sources of such fear lie in the insensitive media use of spreading disinformation and the stigmatization of infected individuals. These two factors alone have widened anxiety and frustration among the elders. Further, the constant presence of armed officials to control the activities of communities has deeply affected the elderly. Medical recommendations such as quarantine, social distancing have become alien to the community life that the elders were used to. This study recommended that the media be sensitive to the domains of community life, thereby asserting support rather than alerting depart of them. It is important to use a blend of professional and indigenous knowledge when mobilizing communities during pandemics. It is important that a 142 community social model for interventions consider involving social workers who are well-versed in addressing community dynamics.