TORONTO – With the one year mark of COVID-19 lockdowns passed, and as vaccine rollout ramps up, many are considering how life will be different post-pandemic. New research from Home Instead, Inc. confirms Canadian seniors – the demographic hardest-hit by the pandemic – are re-evaluating what’s important as they age.
Approximately two-thirds (69 per cent) of Canadian seniors surveyed say the pandemic has made them more committed to staying in their homes as they get older, and 68% say the pandemic has made them apprehensive about living in a long-term care home.
“The pandemic has been absolutely devastating for our senior populations, but if there’s a silver lining, it’s that we’ve been given an opportunity to reimagine how we care for seniors in the future,” said Dr. Lakelyn Hogan, gerentologist and caregiver advocate for Home Instead. “As we rebuild, it’s clear we need to work harder to provide safe, viable opportunities for seniors to age how they wish to age – where ever they call home.”
According to Home Instead’s research, the pandemic hasn’t just changed how seniors plan to age, it’s changed how they connect to the world around them.
More than half (52%) of seniors are more comfortable using technology since the start of the pandemic, and 35% are more comfortable using technology to help with their care at home.
Technology is critical to help ensure seniors stay connected to their loved ones. Just under half (46%) of seniors are using video calling more or for the first time since the start of the pandemic, and of those using communications technology more frequently, 40% are reporting deeper connections with their loved ones and 72% of seniors say they’ll continue to use technology to communicate after the pandemic.
“Isolation and loneliness are serious threats to seniors’ mental and physical wellbeing, and will be long after the pandemic has ended,” said Hogan.
Despite the challenges of the last year, majority of seniors remain hopeful for the next 12 months (62 per cent). For more information, visit homeinstead.ca.
