COVID-19 E O USO DE TECNOLOGIAS INFORMACIONAIS E DE COMUNICAÇÃO POR PESSOAS IDOSAS: REVISÃO INTEGRATIVA

Abstract

Introduction: The health crisis occasioned by COVID-19 fostered the development and use of digital platforms and, consequently, the elderly population needed to adapt to the use of these resources. Objective: to investigate the use of digital technologies by the elderly during the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: integrative review carried out between January and March 2022, of articles published in Portuguese and English, available in full in the Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS), National Library of Medicine (NLM-PubMed) and PubMed. The descriptors “aged/elderly” AND “covid-19/sars-cov-2/coronavirus” AND “information and communication technology” were used, and nine studies were selected and analyzed. Results: The elderly population used various technological resources during the pandemic, in order to assist the communication process, provide distraction and leisure, and get help and health care. Conclusion: during social isolation, the use of technologies by the elderly population allowed social interaction and access to the most diverse resources for searching for information, in addition to alleviating loneliness and reducing exposure to the risk of infection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.