How have people coped during the pandemic? Some insights have been gained in a study recently released by Mather Lifeways, an 80-year-old not-for-profit organization whose programs include senior living, community-based initiatives, and aging research.
Mather’s study focused on resident stress and resilience during the pandemic. Participants included 3,441 residents of 122 senior living and healthcare communities. They were asked to self-report on characteristics of stress and resilience related to life during the pandemic.
Coping strategies that lowered stress included intellectual activities, meditation, and volunteer work. Coping strategies that heightened resiliency included these above, plus talking with friends/family and, “screen time” activities. Overall, the study concluded by saying that residents of not-for-profit Life Plan Communities (which includes Grinnell’s The Mayflower Community) reported low stress and high resiliency during the pandemic, despite variability across individuals.
In Grinnell’s Mayflower Community, residents have gathered often in safe modes to share conversation and intellectual activities. As a result, we have spent the last two-and-a-half years avoiding the worst parts of the pandemic, to both physical and mental health.
— Bob Mann, Mayflower Sales & Marketing Director