Date of Award
8-2023
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Organizational Unit
College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, Communication Studies
First Advisor
Erin Willer
Second Advisor
Elizabeth Suter
Third Advisor
Mary Claire Morr Loftus
Fourth Advisor
Roddy MacInnes
Keywords
Aging, COVID-19, Grief, Narrative, Photography, Women
Abstract
The diverse array of challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic make it difficult to assess the full impact of this global health crisis. More than 300,000 older Americans died, leaving a nation of grieving survivors in their absence. This profound loss of life will undoubtedly inform the field’s understanding of grief and grieving for many years to come. Pre-pandemic, older women in the United States understood grief to be part of their life stage; COVID-19 amplified the grief experience through both cumulative losses and the isolation particular to the novel coronavirus response. However, few qualitative studies explore older women’s grief, and even fewer capture pandemic grief. The present study illuminated ways in which older women made sense of their losses during the pandemic. Through photography and qualitative interviews, I uncovered the stories behind the mortality statistics. Eleven themes emerged that offer insight into the grieving experience of older women in the United States: social isolation, fear of the virus, efficacy of support, efficacy of the healthcare system (HCS), multiple simultaneous losses/stressors, interpersonal conflict, political divide, delayed grief/rituals, gradual loss, responses to loss(es), and the presence of deceased. Findings offer important recommendations for theory and practice.
Copyright Date
8-2023
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
All Rights Reserved.
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Rights Holder
Anne Walker
Provenance
Received from ProQuest
File Format
application/pdf
Language
English (eng)
Extent
232 pgs
File Size
3.4 MB
Recommended Citation
Walker, Anne, "Older Women’s Stories of COVID-19 Loss: Communicated Narrative Sense-Making Through Photography" (2023). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2334.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/2334
Discipline
Aging, Mental health
Included in
Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons, Graphic Communications Commons, Mental and Social Health Commons, Other Communication Commons, Photography Commons, Women's Studies Commons