research-article

Hugging with a Shower Curtain: Older Adults' Social Support Realities During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Authors:

Chia-Fang Chung,

Clara Caldeira,

Kay ConnellyAuthors Info & Claims

Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, Volume 5, Issue CSCW2

Article No.: 463, Pages 1 - 31

https://doi.org/10.1145/3479607

Published: 18 October 2021 Publication History

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic led to dire consequences globally, and it has been particularly challenging for older adults. They are at a higher risk of adverse outcomes of the disease \citecdc_covid. Older adults also use less technology than other age groups \citetech_old, so they mostly rely on in-person interactions and services for social support. However, disease mitigation efforts such as social distancing and self-quarantining severely limited in-person interactions, hindering older adults' social support during the COVID-19 crisis. In this paper, we present findings on social support realities from semi-structured interviews with older adults (N=15) living alone in community dwellings. We found that older adults' support roles, support sources, and support concerns evolve as they passed through this time of sweeping change. They are enthusiastic about providing support to people who are older and more vulnerable than themselves. At the same time, their needs for safety, autonomy, and independence create tensions around social support. We propose a framework to illustrate the evolving ecology of social support that can facilitate the holistic design of socio-technical support systems for older adults. We argue against the societal portrayal of older adults as vulnerable individuals. Rather, there is an opportunity to design support systems considering them as anchors in society. Towards that goal, we present design implications for future socio-technical support systems to empower older adults to age in place during a crisis.

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Index Terms

Hugging with a Shower Curtain: Older Adults' Social Support Realities During the COVID-19 Pandemic
1. Human-centered computing
  1. Human computer interaction (HCI)
    1. Empirical studies in HCI

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cover image Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction

Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction Volume 5, Issue CSCW2

CSCW2

October 2021

5376 pages

EISSN:2573-0142

DOI:10.1145/3493286

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Published: 18 October 2021

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