The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Immobilized Lifestyle of Institutionalized Older Persons: An Empirical Study
Claudiu Coman,
Carmen Bărbat,
Cosmin Goian,
Maria Cristina Bularca,
Felicia Andrioni,
Lavinia Popp,
Adrian Netedu,
Mihai Burlacu,
Dănuț Bălăuță,
Nicolae Talpă,
Bogdan Popa
Affiliations
Claudiu Coman
Department of Social Sciences and Communication, Faculty of Sociology and Communication, Transilvania University of Brașov, 500036 Brasov, Romania
Carmen Bărbat
Department of Social Work, Faculty of Sociology and Psychology, West University of Timisoara, 300223 Timisoara, Romania
Cosmin Goian
Department of Social Work, Faculty of Sociology and Psychology, West University of Timisoara, 300223 Timisoara, Romania
Maria Cristina Bularca
Department of Social Sciences and Communication, Faculty of Sociology and Communication, Transilvania University of Brașov, 500036 Brasov, Romania
Felicia Andrioni
Department of Socio-Humanities Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Petrosani, 332006 Petrosani, Romania
Lavinia Popp
Department of Social Work, Faculty of Sociology and Social Work, University Babes-Bolyai, 400604 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Adrian Netedu
Department of Sociology and Social Work, Faculty of Philosophy and Socio-Political Sciences, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, 700309 Iasi, Romania
Mihai Burlacu
Department of Social Sciences and Communication, Faculty of Sociology and Communication, Transilvania University of Brașov, 500036 Brasov, Romania
Dănuț Bălăuță
Department of Social Work, Faculty of Sociology and Psychology, West University of Timisoara, 300223 Timisoara, Romania
Nicolae Talpă
Department of Forest Engineering, Faculty of Silviculture and Forest Engineering, Transilvania University of Brașov, 500123 Brasov, Romania
Bogdan Popa
Department of Forest Engineering, Faculty of Silviculture and Forest Engineering, Transilvania University of Brașov, 500123 Brasov, Romania
Our study aimed to examine how care centers for older persons acted and adapted during the COVID-19 pandemic period by considering the opinions of the beneficiaries, employees, and managers of such centers. The research was conducted between February and June 2022, and we used a mixed-methods approach. For the quantitative research, we applied a questionnaire to 430 institutionalized older persons from Timis County, Romania. For the qualitative analysis, we conducted interviews with 31 institutionalized older persons, 7 employees, and 4 managers. Most institutionalized older persons were mainly satisfied with their lives in the care centers. The main difficulties they faced were the impossibility of being close to loved ones and the difficulty of adapting to the living conditions within the center. Additionally, the older persons were satisfied with their interactions with the staff of the care centers. The conducted research provides a view of the lifestyle of older persons in care centers during the pandemic. It highlights their struggles and can be used as a reference point for further improvement of the lifestyle of older persons within care centers.
