Social death of the older adult population reinforced in pandemic times

Abstract

In a context in which the neglect toward the older adult population grows, the COVID-19 pandemic has made evident the lack of inclusion and care that these people face, creating a phenomenon of nonbelonging and exclusion that can be described by the term “social death.” This study aims to analyze the social death of the older adult population from an integrative literature review that includes studies related to social death, older adults and the pandemic. Of the 1,291 studies found in the databases,
15 articles were selected, in which it was observed that aging is not understood as a physiological process, but as a disease, so that older adults are removed from society and treated exhaustively until they die in isolation. It can be concluded that a specific gaze toward this population is necessary to ensure their (re)integration and active participation in society.