Impact of the COVID‐19 lockdown system usage of an innovative care support system and the mood of older adults

Background:OlderageisasubstantialriskfactorforseriousillnessfromCOVID‐19.Moreover,isolation and quarantineare more likely to cause physical, mental andsocialdeprivationinolderage.InformationandCommunicationToolsaremeanstopreventsuchconsequences.Objective:Thisstudy aimed therefore to investigatethe impact of the COVID‐19lockdownmeasureson the usage of an innovativetechnical support systemdeployedinAustria(AT)andLuxembourg(LU)consistingofseveraltoolsthatallowindependentlivinginolderage.Methods:Thirty‐nineolderadults(11male;28female)withameanageof74.3(SD7.3)yearswereincludedinthestudy.Intotal,18olderpeoplewererecruitedinATand 21 in LU. Descriptivestatistics were computed,and longitudinalmodelswerefittedfortechnologyuseandself‐reportedmood.Results:Thenumberofolderadultsusingthesystemsignificantlydecreasedfromthetimebeforelockdown(39[100%])toduringlockdown(26[67%])andthereafter(23[59%];p<0.001).Multiplecomparisonsrevealedasignificantreductionintheaverage number of events for calendar and medicationtools, but a substantialin-crease in communicationand messagingevents. Self‐reportedwell‐beingdeclinedduringthelockdownandincreasedafterwardsbacktobaselinelevels.Conclusion:Communicationwasthemainreasonforusingthesupportsystem.Inaddition, strategiesand interventionsare essential to support older adults whenusing informationtechnologyin the prolongedphases of the pandemic to sustainindependentliving.