COVID-19 in Rural Nigeria: Diminishing Social Support forOlder People in Nigeria

摘要

Social support provided by family, friends and neighbors has beenessential for the survival and wellbeing of older people in Nigeria.However, the reduced social contact between older people and theirsocial network because of the social distancing recommendations andother non-pharmaceutical approaches to protect them from COVID-19 maythreaten their social support. Our study investigated the impact ofthe COVID-19 pandemic on rural older people in Nigeria usingqualitative data collected from 11 older adults residing in ruralNigeria through in-depth interviews. The collected data was translatedand transcribed, coded using Nvivo12 and analyzed thematically.Findings show that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a reduction inboth material support in the forms of food and money, and intangiblesupport in the forms of assistance, communication and care, due tolimited social contact. Furthermore, the economic consequence of thepandemic may have severe implications for the health and wellbeing ofolder people. Social workers should therefore advocate thedistribution of food and care supplies to rural older people tocushion the economic impact of diminishing social support, and alsocreatively help them maintain social connectedness.