Page 35 - GHES-2-4

Global Health Economics and
Sustainability
Think of a similar situation in the future

experienced a higher degree of functional impairment pandemic. Thus, based on this data, we will be reflecting
and a greater tendency to reliability on other people for and considering health policies that can be developed
help, presenting more comorbidities, coupled with the to decrease the impact of future pandemic crises on the
potential for adverse health consequences due to the limited development of depressive symptoms.
availability of health services during the pandemic (Han
et al., 2021; Yao et al., 2020). This sequence of events can lead 2. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on
to greater apprehension about contracting or succumbing depression in older adults
to COVID-19 and regarding the ability to obtain medical The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the prevalence
services, thereby amplifying anxiety levels and triggering of depression by 28.1%, with particularly serious
depressive indications (Yao et al., 2020; Zhang et al., 2019). consequences in older adults (Santomauro et al., 2021).
Older adults may find it challenging to access the Some of the most pertinent factors exacerbating
Internet to search for information; moreover, their lack depressive symptoms directly associated with the
of ability to do so may further limit their accessibility to pandemic were stress, feelings or concerns associated
mental health care. Several additional factors associated with the pandemic, news about the pandemic through the
with the pandemic also contribute to the decline in mental media, news from health professionals, being acquainted
health in older adults, such as social isolation and the with someone who has been infected, and the effects of the
economic repercussions resulting from the pandemic implemented lockdown measures to control the spread of
(Santomauro et al., 2021; Yao et al., 2020). COVID-19 (Silva et al., 2022; 2023).
Older adults’ apprehensions regarding contracting the Other factors, such as the feeling of high susceptibility to
disease and the possible ramifications of the global health the risk of contracting COVID-19 and the fear of infecting
crisis may have been heightened by widespread media others, have also been identified as potential factors for
attention, which emphasized the high mortality rate or the onset of depressive symptoms in older adults, as well
serious outcomes associated with COVID-19, especially as the difficulties in receiving healthcare and obtaining
among the older population. The media coverage also medication (Erbesler & Demir, 2023).
emphasized the effects of isolation and the socioeconomic
implications arising from the pandemic (Murayama et al., Limited knowledge regarding the pandemic and
2016). The high risk of depression among older adults the perceived insecurity of older adults have also been
in the context of the pandemic suggests formulating identified as factors that can exacerbate depressive
effective strategies aimed at improving the mental well- symptoms (Yildirim et al., 2021).
being of older adults struggling with depression (Mishra Some other factors contributing to the onset of
et al., 2021). depressive symptoms were also identified during the
Older adults display distinct personal attributes and often pandemic; however, these factors are not novel as they
experience a high prevalence of various chronic conditions, have been widely described in the literature. These include
further highlighting the importance of adapting intervention female gender, low education levels, and low-income
approaches to meet their specific needs. This is crucial as levels (Han et al., 2021; Sadighi Akha, 2018); loneliness
individuals with a higher education level are likely to exhibit and dependence when performing activities of daily living
a greater ability to manage their symptoms during a crisis, (Yao et al., 2020); medical comorbidities (Zhang et al.,
such as a pandemic (John et al., 2020; Pinho et al., 2021). 2019); and poor quality of sleep (Tavares, 2022).
Hence, health professionals must be aware of the factors 2.1. Variability of depression in different countries
that determine the onset of depression so that they can not
only intervene to prevent it but also minimize its impact if Studies have shown that depression slightly varied in
contracted (Andrew et al., 2017; Mulango et al., 2018). different countries. Regarding sadness and depression,
there was a 21.9% increase in Europe and Israel during
The pandemic has changed community life, making it the pandemic. In Europe, Portugal showed the highest
crucial to understand the elements linked to depression increase in mental health problems (39.4%), followed by
in older adults, enable a correct diagnosis, and choose Italy (30.8%) and Spain (28.2%). Conversely, countries
the most appropriate intervention (Andrew et al., 2017; such as Denmark (10.3%), Slovenia (10.6%), and the Czech
Mulango et al., 2018). Republic (10.8%) showed a lower prevalence of sadness
At present, we have knowledge about the factors and depression. In the USA, the prevalence of depression
that have significantly contributed to the development during the pandemic was 30.4% (Chao et al., 2022; Chao &
of depression in older adults during the COVID-19 Yu, 2021; Voss et al., 2021).

Volume 2 Issue 4 (2024) 2 https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.3193