Population at Risk in a COVID World: Changes in the Quality of Life and Physical Activity Level of the Elderly

Aim: This presentation focuses on a risky category of population connecting with COVID pandemic topic. During the period of lockdowns, the main health precautions were directed towards the elderly population in most of the European countries, which brings next to safety also the inactive lifestyle (physically and socially as well).

Preliminary data come from a presented study identifying the quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire) and a self-report measure of older people expressing on their attitudes to the process of ageing (AAQ questionnaire) in the period of lockdown in the Czech Republic. Results of the standardised questionnaires are related to physical activity level of the participants. Also, the picture of active lifestyle differences BEFORE and DURING lockdown is presented.

Methods: The Czech versions of standardised questionnaires WHOQOL-BREF (World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment) and AAQ (The Attitudes to Ageing Questionnaire) were used. Personalised surveys have been implemented to compare answers from both questionnaires related to physical activity frequency and health condition during the COVID period and outside of this period; different age groups of elderly; sex; living environment). There are to date around 100 respondents participating in the research. Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskall-Wallis ANOVA test (p=0.05) and Spearman correlation to evaluate the relation between WHOQOOL-BREF and AAQ questionnaires were used (p = 0, 05).

Results/findings: We are now in the process of evaluating the gathered data (Master’s thesis). This project is a part of the University department research plan, and results will be compared with data collected in the last three years (in a non-epidemic situation time).

Conclusion: We assume that the numbers describing activities and active lifestyle may represent lower values compared to “normal non-epidemic time“, but we are looking forward to the results in quality of life parameters.