Spare time and leisure activities in older adults, during social isolation

Abstract

Human beings, upon reaching this stage of old age, experience a phase of social isolation, caused by the decline of body structures and functions at the biopsychosocial level. Likewise, in March 2020, as a preventive measure to curb the spread of the covid-19 virus, social isolation is abruptly and permanently decreed for the entire Colombian population, with a greater impact on this population due to comorbidity criteria. Hence the importance of evaluating the different leisure and free time activities carried out by institutionalized older adults in times of social isolation. A descriptive quantitative methodological approach was adopted. The results show that older adults invest much of their time in activities that do not require greater physical effort or professional accompaniment, such as watching television or listening to the radio (91%). However, some of the activities have been abandoned as a result of the physical deterioration associated with the aging process, such as reading and walking, observed in 67% and 36% of the cases, respectively.