Death anxiety and loneness during the COVİD-19 pandemic in elderly living in nursing home

This study was carried out to determine the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic process on death anxiety and loneliness in the elderly living in nursing homes. The study was completed with the participation of a total of 201 people, 109 women, and 92 men, staying at the Darülaceze Nursing Home. The study period covers between November 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022, and the data of the study were collected between February 24, 2022, and April 15, 2022, following the approval of the ethics committee and the institution. The study data analysis was done with the "SPSS 21" computer package program. Non-parametric methods were used for the measurement values that did not conform to the normal distribution. In accordance with non-parametric methods, the "Mann-Whitney U" test (Z-table value) was used to compare the measurement values of two independent groups, and the "Kruskal-Wallis H" test (χ2-table value) method was used to compare the measurement values of three or more independent groups. Bonferroni correction was applied for pairwise comparisons of variables that differed significantly for three or more groups. It was determined that the mean age of the elderly was 69.24±6.83 (years) and 35.3% (n:71) were in the 65-69 age group. The average score of the elderly from the Loneliness Scale for the Elderly was 10.69, the mean score of the emotional loneliness sub-dimension was 6.67, and the mean score of the social loneliness sub-dimension was 4.02. The loneliness level of the elderly was found to be acceptable loneliness. The mean score of the elderly on the Death Anxiety Scale was found to be 7.02. Death anxiety was found to be high in the elderly. It is recommended to increase research on loneliness and death anxiety and to implement initiatives to reduce the anxiety of elderly individuals who are more affected by difficult processes such as pandemics.