SUMMARY

Results of the survey on the condition of the over-65s in the Covid-19 period in Sardinia

Presentation of the survey

The Eurispes and CIF Sardinia, in partnership with CSV Sardegna Solidale and IFOS and with the contribution of the Regional Department for Planning and Budget have carried out a survey on the condition of the over-65s in the Covid-19 period in Sardinia.

The survey was presented this morning by videoconference. The meeting was opened by Gerolamo Balata, Director of the Eurispes Regional Office. The meeting was attended by Gian Maria Fara, President of Eurispes, Mattia Pericu, President of CIF Sardinia, Gianni Addis, Mayor of Tempio Pausania, Andrea Biancareddu, Regional Councillor for Education and Cultural Heritage, Giuseppe Fasolino, Regional Councillor for Planning and Budget.

Among the speakers: Giampiero Farru, President of CSV Sardegna Solidale, Fabio Tore, Head of Research and Innovation at the Regional Programming Centre, Roberta Rega, Eurispes researcher and Survey coordinator, Marisa Muzzetto, sociologist, Luca Pisano, IFOS President and psychologist.

The objectives of the survey

The elderly have been at the centre of many debates during the pandemic that began, in Italy, in March 2020 with the first lockdown established by the government. The over-65s were undoubtedly the hardest hit by the wave of contagion, which particularly affected the elderly and those with medical conditions. In some parts of the country, there has even been talk of the disappearance of a generation because of the high number of human lives cut short by the Coronavirus and, if we translate the concept into terms of generational wealth, we can also speak of the loss of historical and civic memory.

From a strictly practical point of view, efforts have been made to protect and safeguard the over-65s from infection, and this has inevitably weakened their social life and opportunities for contact with the outside world, undermining their emotional and psychological balance. Since many of them are now away from work, socialising is an important part of their social life and well-being.

Especially when it comes to restrictions and red zones, i.e. when journeys are justified only for work reasons, those who are away from work inevitably lose a fundamental source of contact with the outside world, and this places an important focus on the psychological health of this age group. It is therefore necessary to explore the concept of well-being not only from a purely physical point of view (such as access to care and services and the efficiency of local medicine), but also from a psychological one, an aspect that should not be underestimated given that the statistics clearly show an increase, in the course of 2020, in the use of psychological support, including through medication, for all age groups and, in particular, for those who are at the opposite ends of the spectrum: the youngest and the oldest.

The survey, which focuses on the over-65 population living in Sardinia, looked at both the living conditions of the respondents and their psychological and relational situation, as well as at the vision of the future and the reality proposed by the media and marked by measures and decrees.

Quality of life of the over-65s in Sardinia

The quality of living space was fundamental during the lockdown in March, April and May 2020: when one can only move within the 4 walls, the difference in the number of rooms available becomes substantial. Well, the majority of Sardinian over-65s, i.e. 64%, move between more than three rooms, while only 11.2% have one/two rooms with respect to services and kitchen, and more than 60% have a private garden or condominium at their disposal.

As far as sociality is concerned, the containment measures exacerbated the condition of the elderly who were already living alone; for them quarantine was certainly harder and more problematic, especially in carrying out external tasks such as buying basic necessities and medicines, or accessing territorial health care.

In lockdown with whom?

We asked the over-65s with whom they had spent the quarantine period in March, April and May. It emerged that only 15.2% spent this period alone, while the rest of the sample could count on cohabitants. 45.1% spent the lockdown with their spouse or partner. 23.8% were able to count on the presence of children, 6.4% on brothers or sisters, 5.7% on grandchildren, 1.8% on other relatives, while 2% spent the lockdown with other people who were not relatives.

During the first lockdown, they declared to have had contacts with people outside their household mainly through telephone and video calls (70,1%), while contacts took place through the Internet and interactions on social networks for 16,1% of the sample. 3% frequented public places and 2.9% the workplace. Finally, 7.9% of the respondents did not have any kind of contact outside their family circle.

Emotions felt by the elderly

Trying to trace and characterise the emotions felt during the lockdown in March, April and May, the most shared statement was the one complaining about the lack of moments of aggregation with friends and relatives (31%), followed by the limitation of one’s freedom (29.2%). 14.8% of the interviewees felt a sense of loneliness and isolation but, in general, more than the anxiety of isolation and loneliness, the elderly suffered from the lack of aggregation moments and the change in their habits, understood as a deprivation of their freedom. Only one person in four (25%) did not notice any change in their habits or even took the positive side of the experience, engaging in activities that would otherwise be neglected.

In the survey on the psychological wellbeing of the Sardinian over-65s, we then asked respondents to tell us how they felt about the emergency situation caused by the spread of Covid-19. One in three respondents (33.7%) said they were ‘extremely’ and ‘very’ afraid of losing their life because of Covid-19. As for the moods affected by the stress generated by the pandemic, 9.1% feel ‘extremely’, ‘very’ (14.9%) or ‘quite’ (24.8%) nervous than usual, although the highest percentage (28.7%) includes those who say they are ‘a little’ more nervous than usual. Compared to before, 32.4% of the interviewees are easily frightened or panic-stricken (extremely, a little or quite a lot), while the majority (67.6), on this point, are little or not at all frightened or panic-stricken.

Generally speaking, it can be said that fears and stress are linked more to the actual possibility of contagion and the recurring thought of a health emergency – a theme proposed daily by the media or the focus of discourse.

The Eurispes institute investigated the persistence of mood disorders even after the measures taken up to May 2020 had ended. After the lockdown, more than half of the sample experienced anxiety, insomnia and mood problems “never” (29.6%) or “rarely” (27.6%). On the other hand, the disorders persist “sometimes” for 26% of the respondents, “often” for 13.9% and “always” for 2.9%. The numbers indicate a stable scenario.

Procurement of goods and services

Abbiamo chiesto anche agli over 65 se durante il periodo di lockdown nella primavera del 2020 hanno usufruito dei servizi messi a disposizione da volontari, associazioni o esercizi commerciali, come il recapito a domicilio di farmaci o generi alimentari. Benché siano servizi pensati soprattutto per anziani e persone in difficoltà, il 70,2% degli intervistati dichiara di non averne usufruito, il 15,2% ne ha usufruito qualche volta, il 6,5% raramente, il 5,6% spesso. Il 2,5% degli intervistati ha invece dichiarato di non essere stato a conoscenza di tale servizio.

La paura di non essere curati

The fear that Covid would weaken ordinary territorial healthcare is based on the data that emerged during the survey, and it is not surprising that one of the most widespread fears is that of not being treated, for Covid or other diseases. As the survey shows, during the quarantine in March, April and May 2020, one in four respondents (25.3%) were able to use the territorial health care for non-Covid-related diseases “never”, 24.4% “sometimes” and 11.7% rarely. Only 17.1% of the users benefited from territorial health care despite the emergency.

By province of residence, they benefited from the territorial health service “always”, especially in the South of the Island and in Cagliari, a province where more than one elderly person out of four benefited from it always or often. Sassari has the highest percentage of those who answered “never” (30.3%), so here things have worked less efficiently in terms of territorial assistance. The province of Oristano, on the other hand, is the area where there is the least need for territorial health care, since here 26.9% of the elderly say they do not need it for pathologies other than Covid-19, while in the south of Sardinia only 12% say they do not need territorial health care.

The previous Government’s action in managing the pandemic is promoted

More than half of those interviewed (63.5%) expressed a positive opinion on the Government’s management of the March 2020 emergency: the measures adopted were “fairly efficient” for 50.4% of them, “timely and adequate” for 13.1%. On the other hand, 20.6% of the sample denounced “contradictory, confused” measures, 11.6% “inadequate and insufficient”, while 4.3% complained of measures that were “too restrictive”. The management of the emergency was, on the whole, promoted; communication throughout the year was less so, which the over-65s perceived above all as contradictory and confused.

A less rosy view of the future for the over-65s living in Sardinia

The data reveal a certain pessimism in thinking about the future of the community when we asked them how the country will emerge from this deep crisis from the point of view of social cohesion. The majority of those interviewed have a less than optimistic view of tomorrow’s Italy: for 44.6% the social body will emerge weakened, or as it was before for 36% of respondents. Only for 19.4% of the sample the country will emerge strengthened in terms of solidarity and social cohesion.

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