Psychosocial health of the elderly in COVID-19

In the face of COVID-19, social distancing measures have been implemented and they are proved effective in controlling the spread of the virus. However, there are likely adverse effects on psychological, social and physical health among older adults. In the prospective cohort study “Impact of COVID-19 on loneliness, mental health, and health service utilisation: a prospective cohort study of older adults with multimorbidity in primary care”, 583 patients were assessed and result found that older patients with multimorbidities in primary care experienced worse psychological health after COVID-19 outbreak. Among them, females were more likely to have increased anxiety and insomnia. (Br J Gen Pract. 2020 Oct 29;70(700):e817-e824. doi: 10.3399/bjgp20X713021. Print 2020 Nov.)

Anyone interested in future collaboration in this field of research, you are welcome to contact our key investigator Prof Samuel WONG of The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, CUHK. Prof Wong’s research focuses on mental health and primary care interventions, mindfulness related interventions, multimorbidity, health services research and men’s health.