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. 2022 Mar 3;77(Suppl 1):S3–S12. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glac056

Table 2.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Well-being, Living Situations, Medications, and Health Care: Overall and by Rural/Urban Residence

Overall (N = 49 695) Rural Residence (N = 3 923) Urban Residence (N = 45 640)
N % N % N % p Value
Current level of well-being .6576
 Excellent 4 915 10.0 390 10.0 4 512 10.0
 Very good 19 045 38.7 1 543 39.7 17 465 38.7
 Good 18 151 36.9 1 414 36.4 16 680 37.0
 Fair 5 967 12.1 462 11.9 5 485 12.2
 Poor 901 1.8 62 1.6 838 1.9
 Very poor 171 0.3 16 0.4 155 0.3
How concerned about the COVID-19 pandemic <.0001
 Not at all concerned 3 245 6.8 297 7.8 2 937 6.7
 Somewhat concerned 20 247 42.2 1 726 45.5 18 454 41.8
 Very concerned 24 533 51.1 1 774 46.7 22 709 51.5
Pandemic causing concerns about the followinga
 Risk of getting COVID-19 infection 30 849 62.1 2 283 58.2 28 476 62.4 <.0001
 Risk of family/friends getting COVID-19 infection 33 448 67.3 2 570 65.5 30 806 67.5 .0109
 Getting the health care I need 5 714 11.5 366 9.3 5 339 11.7 <.0001
 Getting adequate food 1 375 2.8 76 1.9 1 294 2.8 .0010
 Getting enough exercise/physical activity 11 587 23.3 586 14.9 10 976 24.0 <.0001
 Getting the sleep I need 3 813 7.7 224 5.7 3 578 7.8 <.0001
 Having adequate housing 299 0.6 15 0.4 283 0.6 .0646
 Having enough money to cover my needs 2 380 4.8 162 4.1 2 210 4.8 .0448
 My personal safety 8 189 16.5 581 14.8 7 583 16.6 .0035
 Health and safety of my family/friends 29 226 58.8 2 231 56.9 26 933 59.0 .0089
 My financial security 3 795 7.6 235 6.0 3 547 7.8 <.0001
 Financial security of my family 5 168 10.4 344 8.8 4 807 10.5 .0005
 Ability to be with family and friends 30 533 61.4 2 300 58.6 28 167 61.7 .0001
 Nation and economy more generally 34 561 69.5 2 723 69.4 31 764 69.6 .8083
Perceived stress scale, mean (SD) 4.8 (2.9) 4.6 (2.9) 4.8 (2.9) .0023
Living arrangement changed since March 2020 due to pandemic* 3 351 6.9 273 7.1 3 067 6.8 .6072
If yes, what changed
 Moved in with other family or friends 356 13.1 45 20.0 310 12.5 .0013
 Family or friends moved in 495 18.2 41 18.2 454 18.3 .9881
 Household members moved away 148 5.4 11 4.9 137 5.5 .6941
 Moved out of shared housing 62 2.3 11 4.9 51 2.1 .0064
 Care provider now comes to help 190 7.0 16 7.1 173 7.0 .9316
 Care provider no longer comes to help 92 3.4 6 2.7 86 3.5 .5294
 Moved into care facility 233 8.6 20 8.9 212 8.5 .8529
 Moved out of care facility 61 2.2 8 3.6 53 2.1 .1679
 Other changes 1 404 51.6 105 46.7 1 291 51.9 .1303
Steps taken since March 2020 to reduce risk of infection by COVID-19*
 Washing hands frequently 45 019 90.6 3 564 90.8 41 335 90.6 .5625
 Trying not to touch face 32 157 64.7 2 440 62.2 29 640 64.9 .0006
 Disinfecting surfaces frequently 25 227 50.8 1 960 50.0 23 200 50.8 .2951
 Maintaining physical distance from people outside household 44 344 89.2 3 431 87.5 40 809 89.4 .0001
 Wearing a face mask in public 46 309 93.2 3 607 91.9 42 599 93.3 .0009
 Wearing gloves in public 9 517 19.2 555 14.1 8 934 19.6 <.0001
 Avoiding in-person social/religious activities 36 786 74.0 2 673 68.1 34 032 74.6 <.0001
 Avoiding or limiting in-person shopping 34 828 70.1 2 630 67.0 32 122 70.4 <.0001
 Avoiding shaking hands 40 159 80.8 3 072 78.3 36 999 81.1 <.0001
 Staying home 39 210 78.9 3 022 77.0 36 085 79.1 .0028
New actions taken to help family/friends/community during pandemic*
 Getting food or medicine for others 4 847 10.0 372 9.8 4 461 10.0 .6233
 Providing childcare 979 2.0 91 2.4 888 2.0 .0962
 Donating blood 768 1.6 81 2.1 686 1.5 .0054
 Donating money 14 679 30.4 1 010 26.6 13 632 30.7 <.0001
 Making masks for others 5 455 11.3 542 14.3 4 905 11.0 <.0001
 Contacting friends/family to keep in touch 34 318 71.0 2 638 69.4 31 603 71.1 .0270
 Other actions 1 933 4.0 141 3.7 1 789 4.0 .3411
 No new actions 10 258 21.2 834 21.9 9 388 21.1 .2344
How often communicate with others outside home .1133
 Every day 22 819 47.8 1 743 46.3 21 030 48.0
 Several times per week 16 043 33.6 1 326 35.2 14 663 33.4
 1–2 times per week 5 326 11.2 404 10.7 4 906 11.2
 Once per week 1 945 4.1 155 4.1 1 784 4.1
 Rarely or never 1 607 3.4 140 3.7 1 462 3.3

Notes: COVID-19 = coronavirus disease 2019; SD = standard deviation.

*The COVID-19 survey allowed participants to mark multiple responses to this question.