The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated yet again that older people are “chronically invisible” in data. This HelpAge brief illustrates how older people often are being left behind in evidence gathering about health and care, income security and social challenges in this period. The brief also suggests four straightforward steps to help address the constraints. Even before the pandemic, there was a dearth of quality data on older people. Many population-wide data collection efforts and household surveys lack age disaggregation or have age caps in survey design that exclude older people. The risks of COVID-19 infection, particularly high among older adults, has made evidence gathering limited and difficult during the various phases of lockdowns and social distancing. Gaps in age-disaggregated data, analysis and reporting have limited our ability to clearly answer even the most basic questions about risks from COVID-19, how the pandemic has affected older persons, and how governments can respond most effectively.
Find the completed ‘Monitoring COVID-19 impact on older persons’ collection here.
Language: English
Published: HelpAge International, Asia Pacific, 2020
Size: 2.94 MB
