Aging in the Time of Covid-19 a Qualitative Analysis: “[It’s the] first time I have felt so acutely that I am 'less' because of my age.”

Background: Policy approaches intended to promote public health and stop the spread of COVID-19 explicitly targeted older adults. Public discourse, media coverage, and government policy during the COVID-19 pandemic perpetuated views that older adults are frail, vulnerable, and dispensable. Understanding how the framing of pandemics impacts older adults’ experiences can inform strategies to reduce ageism in the future. Methods: : Participants completed an online survey that captured their experiences during COVID-19. At the end of the survey we asked participants “What else would you like to share about your experience of living through COVID-19?”. A total of 1046 individuals provided a response to an open ended question across all three waves of the survey for a total of 1700 comments included in analysis. An inductive thematic analysis of the open-ended survey responses was conducted. Results: : The thematic analysis revealed implications of age-related overgeneralizations and benevolent ageism more broadly. Three broad themes were identified: prejudice that created an us versus them dynamic, framing the vulnerability of contracting COVID-19 lead to prejudice, and lastly a lack of trust in leaders and media. Overall, the results highlight that age-based public health messaging leads to feelings and experiences of prejudice and increases generational divides. We observed perceived ‘othering’ and implications for internalized age-related stereotypes. Conclusions: : Both the coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and open discourse around vulnerability when contracting COVID-19 was framed in terms of age. Experiences with age-based framing perpetuate ‘othering’ between generations and even within generations. Public health messaging and decision makers need to consider intergenerational conflict frames prior to instituting social policies.