Seniors staying involved in the communities of Berettyóújfalu district

Abstract

The Health Promotion Office in Berettyóújfalu and the Social Service Center of Bihar organised a program series, containing six sessions in seven locations for people over 65 years. The purpose of the lifestyle change program were to help the elderly overcome the difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic, besides keeping them involved in the community. Since the elderly were the most vulnerable group during the COVID-19 pandemic, most of them followed the rules of social distancing and reduced the number of personal contacts or even avoided them entirely. However, some of the elderly did not understand the control measures, so their implementations were unsuccessful. As our clients mentioned the mental difficulties was the biggest problem. Those were caused by fear of the COVID-19 disease, lack of personal contacts and grief. The participants had problems with the changed function of the health care system and to accept it. The main topics of our program were hand hygiene, primary prevention and different dimensions of health. Additional tasks included coping methods for acute emotional crisis, the establishment and strengthening of a healthy lifestyle and a positive outlook on life. We reached 8.52-17.12% of the elderly population in covered areas. Overall, the most significant result of the program was that there were no dropouts among the participants, who were at the most vulnerable group – regarding the COVID-19 – and that they received help to solve their everyday problems and improve their quality of life.