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.
","abstract_html":"<p>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.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Walker, Anne"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Erin Willer","Elizabeth Suter","Mary Claire Morr Loftus","Roddy MacInnes"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2023,"date_issued":"2023-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2023-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:01:39Z","subjects":["Aging","COVID-19","Grief","Narrative","Photography","Women","Arts and Humanities","Communication","Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication","Graphic Communications","Mental and Social Health","Other Communication","Social and Behavioral Sciences","Women's Studies"],"languages":["English (eng)"],"rights":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/2334","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Erin Willer","Elizabeth Suter","Mary Claire Morr Loftus","Roddy MacInnes"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Walker, Anne"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph.D."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Aging","COVID-19","Grief","Narrative","Photography","Women","Arts and Humanities","Communication","Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication","Graphic Communications","Mental and Social Health","Other Communication","Social and Behavioral Sciences","Women's Studies"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English (eng)"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/2334"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["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.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Older Women’s Stories of COVID-19 Loss: Communicated Narrative Sense-Making Through Photography"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Erin Willer","Elizabeth Suter","Mary Claire Morr Loftus","Roddy MacInnes"],"dc:creator":["Walker, Anne"],"dc:description.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.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/2334"],"dc:language":["English (eng)"],"dc:rights":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
"],"dc:subject":["Aging","COVID-19","Grief","Narrative","Photography","Women","Arts and Humanities","Communication","Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication","Graphic Communications","Mental and Social Health","Other Communication","Social and Behavioral Sciences","Women's Studies"],"dc:title":["Older Women’s Stories of COVID-19 Loss: Communicated Narrative Sense-Making Through Photography"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph.D."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:01:39Z"}