Older Adults' Risk Perception during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Lombardy Region of Italy: A Cross-sectional Survey.

ABSTRACT

During COVID-19 pandemic, older adults are the segment of the population at higher health risk. Given the important role the risk perception has in influencing both the behaviors and psychological well-being, it appears useful exploring this factor in this segment of the population. Despite different studies already described the factors influencing the risk perception, few focused on older adults. For this reason, we investigated risk perception in 514 people over 60 years during the lockdown. We administered a structured interview collecting socio-demographic information, sources of information used, actions undertaken to avoid contagion, and risk perception. Risk perception related to COVID-19 was significantly lower than the perceived risk associated with other threats, and it was correlated to the number of sources of information used but not to the actions undertaken. Furthermore, we found higher risk perception in who knew infected persons, and a negative correlation between the risk perception and age, with the over 75 perceiving a lower risk of getting infected compared to the younger participants. Our results should be taken as informative for future studies. Indeed, further studies on the older adults and the risk perception during emergencies are needed to better orient both communication and supporting strategies.