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PA COUNCIL ON AGING STATE OF OLDER ADULTS COVID-19 REPORT

The Pennsylvania Department of Aging and the Pennsylvania Council on Aging (PCoA) has released the findings of a statewide survey conducted by PCoA to assess the status, needs and interests of older adults during the COVID-19 outbreak. The survey inquired about food access, public risk factors, and social connection.

The brief online survey, conducted during the first week of April in both English and Spanish, drew more than 3,700 responses from older adults across Pennsylvania. The survey included questions on how often the older adult communicates with people outside their home, technologies they are using to connect, how often they are leaving their home during this pandemic and their primary reasons for doing so.

COVID-19 is a virus that vastly and disproportionately affects older adults. According to the CDC, older adults are much more at risk of fatality. Eight out of 10 deaths reported in the U.S. have been in adults aged 65 and older. In Pennsylvania, the majority of COVID-19-related hospitalizations are of people aged 65 and older.

Read the results of the survey.