Abstract
•Contamination fear is high among older adults during post-COVID-19 era.•Older adults’ background characteristics predict contamination fear.•Contamination fear negatively affects well-being and primary health care visits.•The effects of contamination fear are moderated by activities of daily living and multimorbidity.
This study assesses older adults’ fear of contamination in the post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) era, examining the factors associated with this fear and investigating its effects on their well-being and use of primary healthcare, considering the moderating effects of activities of daily living (ADL) and multimorbidity in these two relationships. A cross-sectional study was conducted in primary healthcare centers in three regions in Saudi Arabia with a convenience sample of 444 older adults diagnosed with chronic diseases. The results indicated that 77.9% of older adults had high contamination fear, predicted by their age, education level, gender, ADL, and previous COVID-19 infection experience. Subjective well-being and the number of primary healthcare visits in the post-COVID-19 era were negatively affected by contamination fear and both ADL and multimorbidity moderated these relationships. In conclusion, the study confirmed the need to focus on older adults’ contamination fear to mitigate its negative effects on well-being and critical primary healthcare visits.