Experiences of Elderly’s COVID-19: A Qualitative Study in the Case of Hatay

Year 2022, Volume: 39 Issue: 2, 711 - 728, 30.12.2022

Işıl Avşar Arık , Ferhat Arık

https://doi.org/10.32600/huefd.1080996

Abstract

With the development of technology, pandemics have become global in the twenty-first century. The speed in communication and transportation has increased in recent years, and the COVID-19 disease experienced today has become the most devastating pandemic of this century. During this period, the elder people were named as the risk group. In addition, various social and political attitudes towards the elderly have emerged. When all these are evaluated together, it can be said that we are faced with a new social fact. Starting from this, the present study tries to understand this new phenomenon from the elders' own experiences. The study is a qualitative study to explore the economic, cultural, social, psychological and family relationships and spatial perceptions of the elderly aged 60 and over who have recovered from COVID-19 disease before, during and after the illness. In this direction, by using purposeful sampling and snowball sampling together, a total of 10 people aged between 60 and 75 living in Hatay were reached. As a result, it was seen that the themes of fear and social pressure became the most distinct themes. Besides these, internalized stigma was another prominent theme.

Keywords

COVID-19, outbreak, older adults, aging, social fact.

COVID-19 Geçiren Yaşlıların Deneyimleri: Hatay Örneğinde Nitel Bir Çalışma

Abstract

Teknolojinin gelişmesiyle yirmi birinci yüzyılda salgın hastalıklar küresel hale gelmiştir. Son yıllarda iletişim ve ulaşımdaki hız artmış ve bugün deneyimlenen COVID-19 hastalığı bu yüzyılın en yıkıcı salgını olmuştur. Bu dönemde yaşlılar ise risk grubu olarak isimlendirilmiştir. Yanı sıra yaşlılara yönelik çeşitli toplumsal ve politik tutumlar da ortaya çıkmıştır. Tüm bunlar bir arada değerlendirildiğinde, karşımızda yeni bir toplumsal olgunun olduğu söylenebilir. Buradan hareket eden eldeki çalışma bu yeni olguyu yaşlıların kendi deneyimlerinden anlamaya çalışmaktadır. Çalışma COVID-19 hastalığına yakalanıp iyileşme sağlamış 60 yaş ve üzeri yaşlıların hastalık öncesi, hastalık sırası ve hastalık sonrası süreçlerde ekonomik, kültürel, toplumsal, psikolojik ve aile içi ilişkileri ile mekân algılarını keşfetmeye yönelik nitel bir araştırmadır. Bu doğrultuda amaçlı örnekleme ve kartopu örneklemesi bir arada kullanılarak Hatay’da yaşayan, yaşları 60 ile 75 arasında değişen toplam 10 kişiye ulaşılmıştır. Sonuç olarak korku ve toplumsal baskı temalarının belirgin bir şekilde öne çıktığı görülmüştür. Bununla birlikte içselleştirilmiş ayrımcılık ise ön plana çıkan bir diğer tema olmuştur.

Keywords

COVID-19, salgın, yaşlı, yaşlılık, toplumsal olgu.

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