Infodemic in COVID-19 and its relationship with stress, depression, and anxiety in the elderly

Authors

  • Varinia Alejandra Rodríguez-Campo Universidad de Concepción, Facultad de Enfermería, Concepción, Chile.
  • Sandra Verónica Valenzuela-Suazo Universidad de Concepción, Facultad de Enfermería, Concepción, Chile.
  • Ricardo Bezerra-Cavalcante Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Faculdade de Enfermagem, Minas Gerais, MG, Brasil.
  • Olivia Inés Sanhueza-Alvarado Universidad de Concepción, Facultad de Enfermería, Concepción, Chile.
  • Patricia del Tránsito Jara Concha Universidad de Concepción, Facultad de Enfermería, Concepción, Chile.
  • Aldo Vera-Calzaretta Universidad de Atacama, Departamento Kinesiología, Atacama, Chile.
  • Pablo Miguel Palma-Novoa Universidad de Concepción, Departamento Psiquiatría, Concepción, Chile.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/1518-8345.7769.4751

Keywords:

Infodemic; Psychological Stress; Depression; Anxiety; Aged; COVID-19.

Abstract

Objective:   to analyze the phenomenon of the infodemic in COVID-19 and its relation with stress, depression, and anxiety in the elderly. Method:  quantitative, correlational, cross-sectional study. Non-probabilistic sample of 195 elderly people, who answered a questionnaire for Infodemic, Perceived Stress Scale, Yesavage Geriatric Depression Scale, and Generalized Anxiety Scale through a telephone and/or online self-administered survey. Before you accept informed consent, descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. The Ethics Committee approved the study. Results:  the average age was 69 ± 6.2 years, and 58% were women. The average number of daily hours devoted to information was 5 ± 2.5, higher among men, with no significant differences between the sexes. Hours of infodemic were inversely related to mental health status, and the more hours of infodemic, the lower the level of stress, depression, and anxiety. Conclusion:  the infodemic does not necessarily hurt the mental health of the elderly. From a nursing perspective, it is essential to strengthen critical thinking, promote digital literacy, and support networks and safe spaces that enhance autonomy and confront disinformation.

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Published

2026-03-30

Issue

Vol. 34 (2026)

Section

Original Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Revista Latino-Americana de Enfermagem

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

RLAE’s authorship concept is based on the substantial contribution by each of the individuals listed as authors, mainly in terms of conceiving and planning the research project, collecting or analyzing and interpreting data, writing and critical review. Indication of authors’ names under the article title is limited to six. If more, authors are listed on the online submission form under Acknowledgements. The possibility of including more than six authors will only be examined on multicenter studies, considering the explanations presented by the authors.
Including names of authors whose contribution does not fit into the above criteria cannot be justified. Those names can be included in the Acknowledgements section.
 Authors are fully responsible for the concepts disseminated in their manuscripts, which do not necessarily reflect the editors’ and editorial board’s opinion.

 

How to Cite

Rodríguez-Campo, V. A., Valenzuela-Suazo, S. V., Bezerra-Cavalcante, R., Sanhueza-Alvarado, O. I., Concha, P. del T. J., Vera-Calzaretta, A., & Palma-Novoa, P. M. (2026). Infodemic in COVID-19 and its relationship with stress, depression, and anxiety in the elderly. Revista Latino-Americana De Enfermagem, 34, e4751. https://doi.org/10.1590/1518-8345.7769.4751