Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Mar 12:8:23337214221084866.
doi: 10.1177/23337214221084866. eCollection 2022 Jan-Dec.

Socioeconomic Effects on Psychosocial Factors Among Low-Income Older Adults

Lana Sargent  1   2 , Faika Zanjani  3 , Jodi Winship  4 , Tracey Gendron  3 , Marissa Mackiewicz  2   5 , Ana Diallo  1 , Leland Waters  6 , Kimberly Battle  1 , Gregory Ford  7 , Katherine Falls  1 , Jane Chung  1 , Elvin T Price  2   5 , Melissa Cisewski  1 , Pamela Parsons  1 , Vcu iCubed Health  1   2   5   3   4   6   7 ; Wellness in Aging Transdisciplinary Core
Affiliations

Socioeconomic Effects on Psychosocial Factors Among Low-Income Older Adults

Lana Sargent et al. Gerontol Geriatr Med. .

Abstract

Objectives: Older adults have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. The primary goal of this study is to determine the socioeconomic effects on psychosocial factors among low-income independent-living older adults, in an urban setting, during the COVID-pandemic.

Methods: Participants were recruited through Virginia Commonwealth University's Richmond Health and Wellness Program. Telephone surveys (n=100) were conducted using the Epidemic - Pandemic Impacts Inventory Geriatric with the Racial/Ethnic Discrimination addendum. Responses were analyzed for income and education effects across seven domains: home life, social activities/isolation, economic, emotional health-wellbeing, physical health, COVID-infection history, and positive change behaviors/experiences.

Results: The sample population was between 51 and 87 years of age, 88% were Black, 57% reported incomes of $10,000/year or less, and 60% reported a high-school education or less. There were income effects for social activities/isolation (f = 3.69, p<.05) and positive change (f = 8.40, p<.01), and education effects for COVID History (f = 4.20, p <.04).

Discussion: Overall results highlight the social patterns for a diverse sample of low-income urban older adults; education and income are identified as risk factors for social losses, COVID-infection experiences, racial/ethnic discrimination during the COVID-pandemic, and positive change behaviors.

Keywords: community; gerontology; health care disparity; race/ethnicity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration Of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

References

    1. American Heart Association (2015). African Americans and heart disease. Retrieved from https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/consumer-healthcare/what-is-cardi....
    1. Artiga S., Garfield R., Orgera K. (2020). Communities of color at higher risk for health and economic challenges due to COVID-19. Retrieved from https://www.kff.org/disparities-policy/issue-brief/communities-of-color-....
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2020. a). Health equity considerations and racial and ethnic minority groups. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/health-equity/race-e....
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2020. b). Groups at higher risk for severe illness. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/groups-....
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2020. c). Older adults. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/older-a....

LinkOut - more resources