SHARE Study Reveals the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Healthy Ageing

Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) joined the international Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) in 2017, and our researchers have already accumulated a wealth of experience. Ieva Reine, RSU’s Lead Researcher and Head of the SHARE country team in Latvia, explains how far the study into the living conditions of elderly people in Latvia, the Baltic States, and the EU has come.

How is the study conducted?

The study is based on surveys of people aged 50 and over that are conducted in phases, or waves. Latvia joined the project in the seventh wave, we have successfully completed the eighth, which was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and we are currently in the final stages of the ninth wave. Each wave involves surveying elderly people, often the same respondents at specific intervals. This is an opportunity not only to learn about their perception of various manifestations of their living conditions, but also to compare their responses, sometimes to the same questions, but years later.

A very large amount of data is being accumulated in the 28 EU countries and in Israel that will be used by researchers, health and social welfare policy makers, and other interested parties.

The Latvian government has now allocated funds for the ninth and tenth waves and we have started to prepare for it.

The additional questions cover topics of particular interest to us in the Baltic States. What are they?

One of them is related to migration. The study shows that society in the Baltic States is not homogeneous and that opinions differ and are often ambivalent. The reason is the forced migration that took place during the Soviet years, which is an experience that contrasts with countries where migration was different in terms of timing and structure. This past experience has an impact on the older people’s attitudes towards migration today.

Other questions are related to employment.

In several EU countries, there are greater opportunities for people of retirement age to keep working with a reduced workload or part-time.

Each individual’s physical and mental health is considered when determining their workload. In Latvia, people often want to work longer and retire later, but the reasons for this are different from most Western and Northern European countries. The relatively high employment rate among retired people in Latvia is most often unrelated to the desire to keep doing interesting work, socialising, or being active in society. Research shows that it has more to do with issues of survival and economic security, i.e., the need to earn more for retirement. Employment among elderly people is also linked to ageism, which is a stigma that means that older workers are not always treated positively. I believe that more research could be carried out on such discrimination in the Latvian labour market.

Another aspect we want to study is the impact of dementia on healthy ageing. Various mental health disorders often prevent older people from functioning successfully in society.

How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect the results of the SHARE studies and surveys?

We cannot evaluate any research survey or programme on ageing at this time without considering the physical, psychological, and economic impact that the pandemic had. Loneliness and social isolation among the elderly were already major problems before COVID-19, but it became particularly acute during the pandemic.

Older people felt the impact of the restrictions on their physical and mental health in a very real and personal way.

We conducted a study on the impact of different restrictions and isolation on mental health together with colleagues from Texas Tech University in the US. We saw interesting results emerge in relation to gender differences where women were more concerned about their families and social isolation. Women’s mental health suffered as a result of not being able to meet their relatives, especially their children and grandchildren.

The SHARE data provides broad opportunities for researchers. What projects are currently on your agenda?

There are currently three active projects that use SHARE data. One is my postdoctoral project about social isolation and loneliness, which will end on 30 April next year. There are also two international projects. One of them analyses and compares healthy ageing in Latvia and Iceland. Together with scientific advisor Signe Tomsone and Assoc. Prof. Andrejs Ivanovs’ PhD student Madara Miķelsone we have created an index of healthy ageing for Latvia. Our Icelandic partner has its own study with similar but not identical questions. As the WHO has ten universal determinants of healthy ageing, we have created a similar index for Iceland. This is a methodological experiment on how we can compare healthy ageing in two different countries with different research questions. We are at an interesting stage in developing a methodology to compare what seemingly cannot be compared. It will also be possible to apply the methodology more broadly to compare other countries that are very different from an economic and social perspective.

Are we lagging behind in Europe in terms of opportunities and quality of life for seniors, or are we leading in some areas?

I recently participated in an EU public health conference in Berlin, where I presented several Latvian studies. In one of my seminars, the audience had many questions about access to health services in Latvia during the pandemic, and I have to say that our country stood out positively in this respect.

In Latvia, we sometimes think that it is difficult to get a doctor’s appointment or to get medical help in time, but it does not appear that way when seen in the context of the EU.

Unlike the case in Germany or several other developed economies, appointments being cancelled and transferred in Latvia decreased soon after the pandemic started.

Do you think that the data from this survey, which is financed by the Latvian government, is used thoroughly enough?

I would like to call on researchers and decision-makers to make more use of this unique data on the quality of life of older people. It would ensure that legislation, decisions, and laws are to a greater extent based on research.