The impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on Positive Health among older adults in relation to the complexity of health problems

Background The broad concept of health as “the ability to adapt and self‐manage in the face of social, physical and emotional challenges” has been operationalized by “Positive Health,” a framework increasingly used in the Netherlands. We explored to what degree the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic and preventive measures on Positive Health differed between community‐dwelling older adults without, with mild and with complex health problems, as well as differences flowing from their use of preventive measures. Methods During the second wave in the Netherlands (November 2020–February 2021), a convenience sample of adults aged ≥65 years completed an online questionnaire. Positive Health impact was measured based on self‐reported change of current health status, across six dimensions, compared to before the pandemic (decreased/unchanged/increased). The complexity of health problems (past month) was assessed using the validated ISCOPE tool, comparing subgroups without, with mild or with complex health problems. High use of preventive measures was defined as ≥9 of 13 measures and compared to low use (