A study conducted with Brazilians showed that the genesis of the social representations of the novel coronavirus is marked by concerns related to its dissemination, psychosocial implications (collective concern about the prevention of COVID-19 and prophylactic care) and affective issues (uncertainty, feelings of fear and despair) ( Do Bú et al., 2020).
The psychosocial, emotional, and behavioral implications of the pandemic in the elderly population may be related to social isolation, fear of contagion, feelings of abandonment, loneliness, sadness, fear of death, panic, emotional lability, sleep disorders, loss of appetite, among others ( Faria & Patiño, 2022). (2021) identified that adherence to total social distancing was higher among elderly women. Studies have shown that elderly with comorbidities were three times more likely to agree with the preventive measures adopted for social distancing than those without comorbidities ( Filho et al., 2021). Social distancing measures, such as suspension of events, cancellation of classes, quarantine of the population and risk groups, restriction on the use of public transport ( Da Silva et al., 2021) and use of masks ( De Sousa et al., 2021), were adopted in the Brazilian context to minimize the transmission of the virus. (2022) highlights that the main elements that contributed to the increased vulnerability of women to violence in the context of the pandemic were ethnicity (mainly black women), partial closure of complaint services, low schooling, economic dependence, among others. In the pandemic scenario, women are more susceptible to the risk of contamination and to the social vulnerabilities that stem from that reality, such as unemployment, violence, lack of access to health services and increase of poverty ( Canavêz et al., 2021). On the other hand, the feminization of old age is not limited to the fact that there are more elderly women in Brazil and that they live longer than men, but it includes social-historical contexts that make Brazilian women more likely to be vulnerable to inequality, disasters’ impacts, and overall survival than men ( Cepellos, 2021 Okai, 2022). The process of feminization of old age can be experienced in a discriminatory way due to gender and age. (2021), social isolation and other strategies to minimize the transmission of COVID-19 had impacts on the physical activity of women, who reported decreased levels of these activities and concern about the pandemic reality.Ī phenomenon that accompanies population aging is the feminization of old age, in which there is a higher proportion of women than men in the elderly population, especially at older ages ( Sousa et al., 2018).
(2022) on the real or potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of the elderly highlighted the occurrence of anxiety, depression, loneliness, stress, feeling of fear or panic, sadness, suicide or suicidal ideation and insomnia. The pandemic caused significant impacts on the elderly population, such as increased symptoms of anxiety and depression, increased loneliness, less socialization, decreased practice of physical activities, job loss, worsening of health status since the onset of the pandemic: a condition most reported among women ( Novais et al., 2021).Ī review study conducted by Pereira et al. On January 23, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO, 2020) declared «a public health emergency of international concern» owing to the detection of cases in various Asian countries and highlighting the rapid spread of the disease. However, the numbers reported are underestimated, considering that infected asymptomatic individuals might not have been tested, and that standardized protocols and notification methods have been critically lacking in several countries ( Oran & Topol, 2020). This virus has rapidly spread around the world by travelers and the number of cases worldwide has surpassed 72 million, with more than one million deaths by Decem( Worldometer, 2020). In December 2019, a novel coronavirus appeared in China: SARS-CoV-2, a virus responsible for an outbreak reported for the first time in the city of Wuhan.
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