Changes in Older Adults' Social Contact During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Objectives To understand changes during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in weekly contact with nonresident family and friends for U.S. adults aged 70 and older in residential care and community settings. Methods Participants in the National Health and Aging Trends Study COVID-19 mail supplement (N = 3,098) reported frequency of phone, electronic, video, and in-person contact with nonresident family and friends in a typical week before and during the pandemic. We examined less than weekly contact by mode for those in residential care settings and community residents with and without limitations. We estimated multinomial logit models to examine predictors of change to less than weekly contact (vs. maintaining weekly or more contact) by mode, overall, and stratified by setting. Results Weekly in-person contact fell substantially (from 61% to 39%) and more so in residential care (from 56% to 22%), where nearly 4 in 10 transitioned to less than weekly in-person contact (doubling to 8 out of 10). Weekly or more contact was largely stable for electronic and telephone modes across settings. Weekly or more video contact increased mainly for community residents without limitations. Compared to community residents without limitations, those in assisted living or nursing homes had more than 5 times the odds (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 5.3; p = .01) of changing to less than weekly in-person contact; those in independent living also had higher odds of changing to less than weekly in-person (AOR = 2.6; p = .01) and video (AOR = 3.4; p = .01) contact. Discussion The pandemic revealed the importance of ensuring that communication technologies to maintain social ties are available to and usable by older adults, particularly for those living in residential care settings.

Automated summary

This study aimed to understand the changes in contact with nonresident family and friends during the COVID-19 pandemic for older adults aged 70 and older in residential care and community settings in the U.S. The study found that in-person contact decreased significantly during the pandemic, especially in residential care settings. Electronic and telephone contact remained stable, while video contact increased mainly for community residents without limitations. Additionally, compared to community residents without limitations, those in assisted living or nursing homes were more likely to decrease in-person and video contact.