Recognizing Caregiving Fatigue in the Pandemic: Notes on Aging, Burden and Social Isolation in Emilia-Romagna, Italy

In Italy, the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated lockdowns have provoked potentially serious short long-term consequences for older people with health conditions as well their family caregivers. With closure of adult day-care centres suspension private homecare services, families needed to rearrange care activities many are concerned about situation relatives in residential homes. This article examines interpretations aging caregiving fatigue during first period national lockdown Emilia-Romagna, Italy. The relation between old age, lockdown, social isolation, respect global ideas rhetoric, focuses on vulnerability, individual autonomy, fatigue. I examine how representation ‘burden’ late age shaped media depictions, analyze it meanings attached narrations from caregivers members a local Alzheimer’s Café. also focus life story one caregiver critique idealized vision that was reproduced pandemic. argue recognition reflected pre-existing normative models structural inequalities rather than radically altering them.