Linda NAUGHTON, Coimbra University, Portugal
Miguel PADEIRO, Coimbra University, Portugal
Cláudia COSTA, Coimbra University, Portugal
Paula SANTANA, Coimbra University, Portugal
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on the health and well-being of older people due to the increased risk of severity of the disease with both advancing age and associated co-morbidities. In Portugal, confinement measures were targeted at older persons in terms of sheltering-at-home orders and the closure of services, for example, day care services and community transport services. In recent years, the effects of social isolation and loneliness on the health of all age groups but particularly older adults have become a cause for concern (Luanaigh & Lawler, 2008). Confinement is also expected to have a detrimental effect on the physical health of older people as a result of reduced activity as exercise classes were either stopped or only available online. In In this paper, we analyse the impact of pandemic control measures on the mobility and accessibility patterns of older people and their effect on self-reported well-being. We look at how confinement impacted the life-spaces of older people in terms of use of community spaces, accessibility to services, transport use, public participation, as well as mental and physical health. We look at how the measures effected their day-to-day lived experience and the mitigation strategies and behaviours older people adopted as the pandemic continued (March 2020 – January 2022). The study compares four distinct urban areas: Aveiro, Coimbra, Faro and Lisbon. Data was collected using semi-structured, face-to-face interviews that were transcribed and analysed using a process of open coding. The results give an insight into how assemblages of neighbourhood characteristics, individual characteristics and mobility patterns produce different outcomes for the well-being of older persons in the context of a health crisis. This is relevant for both urban planning and public health policy as it reveals the challenges older people face when navigating the ecosystems of health and place in times of crisis.
Mots clés : Older People|COVID-19|Health Geography|Mobility|Well-being
A104695LN