Effect of Age-Friendly Communities Action Plan on Trajectories of Older Canadians’ Depressive Symptoms Between 2018 and 2020: Multilevel Results From the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

Abstract

As the COVID-19 pandemic impacted mental health, this longitudinal study examined the effect of age-friendly communities (AFC) action plan on older adults’ depressive symptoms. Using the CLSA, the CLSA COVID-19 Questionnaire study, survey of Canadian municipalities, and the census, the depressive symptoms trajectories were modeled with multilevel multinomial regressions. Most respondents (66.1%) had non-depressed trajectories, 28.1% experienced a moderate increase in depressive symptoms, and 5.8% had a depressed trajectory. AFC action plans did not have a protective effect on these trajectories. Being a female, greater loneliness, lower income, ≥2 chronic conditions, inferior social participation, weaker sense of belonging, COVID-19 infection, and pandemic stressors predicted a depressed trajectory. Neighborhood’s deprivation had a weak protective effect on the declining trajectory. Although AFC action plans provided no benefits during the pandemic, volunteers facilitating resource access and social interactions could limit any increase in depressive symptoms.