Older people’s experience of the partial lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objectives This study aimed to evaluate older people’s experience of a COVID-19 partial lockdown (16 March–11 May 2020) in Lausanne, Switzerland.Setting and participants Community-dwelling participants of the Lausanne cohort (Lc65+) in 2020, aged 71–86 years (n=2642).Design and outcome This cross-sectional study was nested within the Lc65+ longitudinal study. A specific COVID-19 questionnaire was sent on 17 April 2020 to evaluate participants’ experience of the lockdown (outcome). Multinomial logistic regression models were used to determine the sociodemographic, living environment, health and social factors associated.Results Out of 2642 participants, 67.8% described the lockdown as ‘somewhat’ difficult (reference group), 21.5% as ‘not at all’ difficult (positive) and 10.7% as ‘very or extremely’ difficult (negative). The relative risk of a positive experience was higher in participants living alone (relative risk ratio, RRR=1.93, 95% CI 1.52 to 2.46) or in a house (RRR=1.49, 1.03 to 2.16); lower in those who reported fear of falling (RRR=0.68, 0.54 to 0.86), functional difficulties (RRR=0.78, 0.61 to 0.99), feeling of loneliness (RRR=0.67, 0.49 to 0.91), unfamiliarity with communication technologies (RRR=0.69, 0.52 to 0.91), usual social support (RRR=0.71, 0.50 to 0.93), previous participation in group activities (RRR=0.74, 0.59 to 0.92) and among women (RRR=0.75, 0.59 to 0.95). The relative risk of a negative experience was higher in participants with fear of falling (RRR=1.52, 1.07 to 2.15), and lower in those who had a terrace/garden (RRR=0.66, 0.44 to 0.99) and owned a dog (RRR=0.32, 0.11 to 0.90).Conclusions Only one in 10 participants experienced the lockdown as very or extremely difficult. Specific interventions targeting vulnerability factors, such as fear of falling, could lessen the impact of any future similar situation.