Impact of Covid-19 pandemic on psychological health of the elderly population in West Bengal Dolai Mohan Chandra, Jana Sahana1, Maiti Amit Kumar, Adak Amita, Mishra Nandini, Md. Murtaja, Bera Kakali Department of Anthropology, Haldia Government College, West Bengal 1Department of Anthropology, Vidyasagar University, West Bengal Online published on 10 September, 2021. Abstract Senior citizens (60 years and above) are more vulnerable than others in all spheres of their lives. But, the present Covid-19 pandemic is accelerating their condition additionally worsening especially their mental well-being. The present study focused to access the psychological condition of the elderly citizen in this pandemic environment. This cross-sectional study was conducted between the period from 13th August to 31st August 2020 and was based on a pre-designed survey schedule/questionnaire using non-probability sampling. A total of 212 (aged =60 years) participants (118 males and 94 females) completed the survey. To collect information on basic socio-economic background and psychological phenomena both telephonic interviews and online surveys through Google Forms were used. A Chi-square test was applied to know the gender differences of all variables. The findings of the study revealed that half of the participants faced psychological dilemmas due to this pandemic. Covid-19 pandemic negatively impacted their scheduled or planned interests (41.04%) and exacerbated boredom in their life (52.36%) for a long period. They were also more anxious (48.58%) about their family members, health, income, etc. There were no gender differences except the variables of anxiousness and isolation. Older people have shown more psychological distress irrespective of their sexes. These phenomena are not even reported by first-hand information. So, this is a prior thrusting area to report more and more and develop a strategy for their psychological well-being. Top Keywords Covid-19 Pandemic, Elderly Population, Psychological Health, West Bengal. Top |