Effect of the COVID‐19 pandemic on meaningful activity engagement in racially and ethnically diverse older adults

Participation and active engagement in meaningful activities support the emotional and physical well‐being of older adults. In 2020, the onset of the COVID‐19 pandemic altered lives, including the ability to participate in meaningful activities. This study compared meaningful activity engagement before and at the beginning of the COVID‐19 pandemic in a nationally representative, diverse sample >65 years between 2015 and 2020.

We described the proportions and characteristics of National Health and Aging Trends Study participants and their engagement in four activities: visiting friends or family, attending religious services, participating in clubs/classes/other organized activities, and going out for enjoyment. We used mixed effects logistic regressions to compare probabilities of activity engagement before 2020 and in 2020, adjusting for age, sex, functional status, income, geographic region, anxiety‐depression, and transportation issues.

Of 6815 participants in 2015, the mean age was 77.7 (7.6) years; 57% of participants were female; 22% were Black, 5% Hispanic, 2% were American Indian, and 1% were Asian; 20% had disability; and median income was $33,000. Participation in all four activities remained consistent between 2015 and 2019 and declined in 2020. Significant differences existed in attending religious services (p < 0.01) and going out for enjoyment (p < 0.001) by race and ethnicity, before and after the start of COVID‐19. Black and Hispanic participants experienced the largest decline in attending religious services (−32%, −28%) while Asian and White participants experienced the largest decline in going out for enjoyment (−49%, −56%).

Potential quality of life tradeoffs should be considered to a greater extent in future pandemic emergencies.