A review of the research of older adult mobility during the pandemic: How were travel behaviors impacted and who was most vulnerable?

Keywords: Older adults, mobility, travel behaviors, pandemic, COVID-19
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic greatly reduced the daily mobility of individuals across the world in an effort to maintain social distancing and mitigate the spread of the virus. While the impacts of reduced mobility were widespread across all demographics of society, arguably those experienced by older adults were doubly difficult. Not only were older adults at higher risk for serious complications and higher mortality rates associated with the COVID-19 virus, for older adults the independence and autonomy of leaving one’s home on a daily basis is central to maintaining a high quality of life, reducing social isolation, and increasing overall health and well-being.

A body of research has emerged of empirical studies investigating how daily mobility of older adults was impacted during the pandemic. This presentation reviews this new research with a particular focus upon the transport, mobility and geography literatures, though a small body of research has also emerged in the fields of health sciences. The purpose is to discover how daily travel behaviors were most impacted during the pandemic, and what sub-populations of older adults were most vulnerable. Current studies exist from countries across the world, including: Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, Japan, Iran, Italy, South Korea, Sweden, and USA.