Mental Health Status of Senior Citizens in Post-COVID Period

Abstract

This study entitled “Mental Health Status of Senior Citizens in Post-COVID Period” was carried out with the main objective to explore the mental health problems of senior citizens during the post-COVID period at Kirtipur municipality in Nepal. This study is based on qualitative research design under interpretivism paradigm. Purposive sampling was used to choose the research participants. The study area was chosen purposively because I am living in the same place and so I wanted to explore the problems of senior citizens. Qualitative data were taken from in-depth interviews, observation, and reflective journals. Data were analyzed through thematic and verbatim methods. It is found that senior citizens had mental tension due to the COVID-19 pandemic till the post-COVID period. They lost self-confidence, self-pacing, interest, and reasoning capacity. Similarly, it was found that they had forgetfulness, fear, and anxiety even in the post-COVID period. Urban senior citizens were facing psychological and mental health problems such as depression, trauma, and stress. Similarly, they didn’t have much company with their friends and other people in the community because of the fear of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the respondents had mental tension due to the learning loss of their grandchildren. Similarly, losing jobs by their family members during the COVID-19 lockdown period was also one of the causes of mental tension among senior citizens. Based on this study, it is recommended that the municipality must identify the causes of the mental problems of senior citizens and support them to minimize the effects. Also, the Government of Nepal should address the safety and care mechanism to minimize the effect of mental tension among senior citizens in Nepal.