Mikä muuttui vai muuttuiko mikään? : Yli 65-vuotiaiden arki korona-aikana

The COVID-19 pandemic has proved to be most dangerous for older people, and therefore the restrictions and recommendations to avoid social contact have concerned them more than other age groups. In this article, we examine how the pandemic has affected older people’s lives and well-being. Our data come from telephone interviews with 31 people (aged 64–96) conducted during summer 2020. The data were analysed using content analysis. Our results show that the period of restrictions imposed during the pandemic affected the lives of older people in many different ways. Many felt that their everyday lives had remained the same or changed only a little. Some felt that their lives had become worse, and some that they had become better. For many interviewees, life before the pandemic had been so challenging, and social contact so rare, that the pandemic restrictions did not make their situation any worse. Many had developed innovative new ways to behave safely, and this enabled them to continue their everyday lives almost unchanged. The built environment, such as walkways and green spaces, had become more important for well-being. Connecting with other people by telephone was also important for well-being. However, new technologies to support meetings online played no significant role, except for the few interviewees who were familiar with them. Older people were fairly adaptive and flexible in their everyday lives, and their life experience influenced their ability to face various challenges during the pandemic. publishedVersion