Under Reconstruction: The Impact of COVID-19 Policies on the Lives and Support Networks of Older People Living Alone.

In the spring of 2020, the Austrian government introduced COVID-19 containment policies that had various impacts on older people living alone and their care arrangements. Seven qualitative telephone interviews with older people living alone were conducted to explore how they were affected by these policies. The findings show that the management of everyday life and support was challenging for older people living alone, even though they did not perceive the pandemic as a threat. To better address the needs of older people living alone, it would be important to actively negotiate single measures in the area of conflict between protection, safety and assurance of autonomy.