At most risk, the elderly battle anxiety, abuse amid COVID-19 lockdown

Besides the trail of death across the world, the COVID situation has also spread panic, stress, and restlessness among the people. The more the restrictions are put in place to check the spread of the epidemic, the more people get agitated.

While the young and middle-aged are able to cope with the situation, it is the elderly who are getting anxious by the day.

With frail age, this section of society is largely dependent on the support of family members or close relatives to get through the testing times.

One such 89-year-old Ramalingam, who lives with his nephew and family in Chennai, has been anxious and stressed for the last two months.

Ever since he has been told about the lockdown to contain COVID-19, he has been scared and upset.

His nephew, Rajendran, says, “He asks for the number of cases testing positive every day and gets panicky if the numbers are high. In fact, a couple of our acquaintances have tested positive and hence, he has been more upset hearing about them.”

The family has therefore tried to engage him with positive stories and does not allow him to watch or hear the news.

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“He has lost his sight partially and is dependent on us to know about the news from TV and newspapers. We change the topic to books or music, whenever he enquires about COVID-19 situation in the state,” says Rajendran.

Experts too, say that the elderly population is a vulnerable group and has been one of the severely affected ones during the pandemic.

“With the people over 70 years of age having one or more co-morbidities like hypertension, respiratory ailments or diabetes, they are also more prone to anxiety and stress during these times,” says Dr. VS Natarajan, senior geriatrician, founder and chairman of Dr. VS Natarjan Geriatric Foundation.

He adds, “Some of them take steroids for their conditions and that can suppress immunity. A good number of them lack balanced diet. Most of them take solace in their visits to the temple, parks, etc. Now, with all these being stopped, they are prone to feeling lonely and depressed.”

Dr. Natarajan who has been counselling his patients over the phone says that the stress is palpable as the old people aren’t able undergo tests during lockdown and they worry that it will affect their health making them vulnerable.

How the elders suffer

A survey by the NGO Helpage India, ‘The Elder Story- Ground Reality’ during COVID-19 says that 42 per cent respondents reported worsening of their health condition during the lockdown.

The sample comprised 5000-odd people in the age group 60-80 and above years from rural and urban India in 21 states.

Among those whose health worsened, 64 per cent were from rural areas as compared to 36 per cent from urban areas; 55 per cent were males and 45 per cent females.

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The challenge to cope with the condition is more acute with those with cognitive dysfunction or where there is memory loss and a sense of reasoning – especially among those with neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and dementia.

Dr. R Sathianathan, a psychiatrist and former director, Institute of Mental Health, says, “I have been interacting with my patients through Skype and phone calls. They find it difficult to make sense of the situation and need a good support system at home to sail through it.”

Those who live alone suffer the most

A good number of the elderly depend on household help or hired caregivers who help them out, procure essential items for them like provision and vegetables besides medicines.

These helpers and caregivers were largely unavailable during the lockdown.

The same HelpAge survey also found out that 78 per cent respondents faced difficulties in accessing essential goods and services. Of these, 56 per cent were living in the rural areas and 44 per cent in urban areas.

P.S. Srikumar, CEO, Care Finder that helps the elderly and their caregivers find products and services in Chennai, says that their own sample survey of 175 people in the city found a similar result.

“Most of them said they missed home healthcare the most, as there was no household help or hired caregiver to talk to and help them with groceries or medicines. The third most missed thing was family connection as they couldn’t join them online. They also said the first thing they would like to learn after this episode was operating the net,” he adds.

Tales of abuse

Jayanthi (name changed) was abused for days by her daughter-in-law following which after a week she reached out to a domestic abuse helpline run in the city for help.

From a lower-income group, the daughter-in-law saw her as a burden, as the son, an auto driver was unable to earn during the period. The police intervened and pulled-up the son and daughter-in-law giving them a stern warning.

A study by the NGO Agewell Foundation found that 71 per cent of the 5000 people who filled the online survey reporting an increase in elders’ abuse, while 58 per cent said that it was due to the interpersonal relationship that led to the abuse.

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The most common way of abuse was disrespect and verbal abuse, followed by denying food, essential things, medicines, etc.

Dr. Natarajan says that abuse is a common concern and has to be dealt with sensitivity. “Making sure that they are financially secured and ensuring that the younger generation is made to respect them from a young age will help solve this. It is as much as a concern during the pandemic, as it was before it.”