Mental Health of Older Adults in the COVID-19 Pandemic: The role of media exposure

Introduction: Low media literacy and exposure to media-produced content during the COVID-19 epidemic can affect the health of people in the community. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the psychological effects of following the media on the mental health of the community dwelling older adults. Method: In this cross-sectional study with descriptive-analytical methods, 200 elderly people at the age of 60 and more who were supported by daily rehabilitation centers and retirement centers in Kerman, Iran in 2020 were selected by convenience sampling method. Data collection was performed using a questionnaire containing demographic information (age, gender, education, occupation, marital status, and income), media exposure level, and GHQ-12( Cronbachchr('39')s alpha for 0.80 respectively). Results: The mean age of the subjects was 66.60 ± 5.08 years. More than three-quarters of participants follow COVID-19 news through the media. Among these, domestic radio and television were the most important source of information. 77.4% of the elderly did not have good mental health status. Higher education (p<0.001), employment (p=0.003), and low frequency follow up of news related to COVID-19 through the media (p<0.001) were recognized as protective factors for mental health. In contrast, high-frequency follow-up of media was recognized as a risk factor for the older adultschr('39') mental health during the COVID-19 outbreak. Conclusion: This study revealed that the mental health of the elderly during the COVID-19 pandemic is affected by the type and extent of use of various media. Our findings recommend that older adults avoid constant follow-up of COVID-19 –related news, especially secondhand. Moreover, media executives should also have more control over the content produced tied to COVID-19 disease.