COVID-19 Study

Information communication technology (ICT) has become an integral component in the lives of both older and younger citizens in society (Marston et al. 2019; Marston, 2019). However, given the change in societal behaviour since February and March 2020, citizen interaction has differed considerably due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This has resulted in the rise and increasing rollout of technology to provide a service, and to support educational needs, social connections between friends, community groups and familial relationships, as well as to continue a sense of normality (Marston, Musselwhite, Hadley, 2020; UOC, 2020). With these societal changes, the notion of age-friendly environments is likely to change too, and the essence of understanding the extent to which technology can be integrated into a smart age-friendly ecosystem (Marston & van Hoof, 2019) will in turn play a key role in the future of citizens and their respective ecosystems.

To capture these changes, and to understand citizen behaviour, the COVID-19: Technology, Social Connections, Loneliness & Leisure Activities study was created. Since the first version of the survey (English) was rolled out (4^th April), it has gained traction and now encompasses international scholars and various translations including Romanian, Spanish, Catalan, Mandarin, and French with additional translations soon to be rolled out in Hindi, Turkish, German, and Portuguese.

This study is utilizing and deploying the networks of the respective scholars, in a bid to reach as many citizens as possible.

Researchers: Franziska Großschädl, Ulla Kriebernegg, Gerhilde Schüttengruber

More information: here