For Better or for Worse? A Scoping Review of the Relationship between Internet Use and Mental Health in Older Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Hui Foh Foong, Sook Yee Lim, Fakhrul Zaman Rokhani, Mohamad Fazdillah Bagat, Siti Farra Zillah Abdullah, Tengku Aizan Hamid and Siti Anom Ahmad
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Hui Foh Foong: Malaysian Research Institute on Ageing (MyAgeingTM), Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia
Sook Yee Lim: Faculty of Applied Sciences, UCSI University, Cheras, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia
Fakhrul Zaman Rokhani: Malaysian Research Institute on Ageing (MyAgeingTM), Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia
Mohamad Fazdillah Bagat: Malaysian Research Institute on Ageing (MyAgeingTM), Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia
Siti Farra Zillah Abdullah: Malaysian Research Institute on Ageing (MyAgeingTM), Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia
Tengku Aizan Hamid: Malaysian Research Institute on Ageing (MyAgeingTM), Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia
Siti Anom Ahmad: Malaysian Research Institute on Ageing (MyAgeingTM), Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 6, 1-15

Abstract: Older adults were advised to avoid social activities during the outbreak of COVID-19. Consequently, they no longer received the social and emotional support they had gained from such activities. Internet use might be a solution to remedy the situation. Therefore, this scoping review sought to map the literature on Internet use and mental health in the older population during the pandemic to examine the extent and nature of the research. A scoping review was conducted using eight databases—PubMed, Scopus, Ebscohost Medline, Ebscohost Academic Search, Ebscohost CINAHL Plus, Ebscohost Cochrane, Ebscohost Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection, and Ebscohost SPORTDiscus, according to PRISMA guidelines. Two pre-tested templates (quantitative and qualitative studies) were developed to extract data and perform descriptive analysis and thematic summary. A total of ten articles met the eligibility criteria. Seven out of ten studies were quantitative, while the remainder were qualitative. Five common themes were identified from all the included studies. Our review revealed that Internet use for communication purposes seems to be associated with better mental health in older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Directions for future research and limitations of review are also discussed.

Keywords: COVID-19; Internet use; mental health; older adults; social media (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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