抄録
Background: Preventing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in older people is an important public health issue. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the level of fear regarding COVID-19 and adherence to COVID-19 prevention measures among community-dwelling older adults.
Methods: This study was a cross-sectional survey conducted from July 15 to August 19, 2020, in 127 community-dwelling older adults ?65 years old in Japan. A questionnaire including participants’ basic attributes (age, sex, body mass index, and family structure), levels of fear regarding COVID-19, increasing adherence to four behaviors (restrictions on going out, maintaining physical distancing, wearing masks, and washing hands) for COVID-19 prevention, and its stress levels was used. We calculated the relationship between the level of fear of COVID-19 and the level of each behavioral change using Spearman's correlation coefficient (rs).
Results: About 95% of older adults displayed fear of COVID-19. Rates of adherence to all four COVID-19 prevention measures increased to approximately 80-95%. However, about 40-55% of older adults were stressed by all behavior modifications except washing hands. The increasing level of fear regarding COVID-19 correlated positively with decreasing frequency of going out (rs=0.280, p=0.001) and increasing frequency of washing hands (rs=0.336, p<0.001).
Conclusion: The behavioral changes of COVID-19 prevention measures in community-dwelling older people were excellent with increasing adherence rates. While such high adherence rates may increase the preventive effect in community-dwelling older people, the new lifestyle during the COVID-19 epidemic may cause frailty due to restrictions on going out and stress regarding behavior modifications.
