Objectives: To explore the impact of COVID-19 public health restrictions on the lives of older adults living inUganda.Design: Qualitative semi-structured interview study.Setting: Participantsâ homes.Participants: Older adults living in Uganda (aged 60 + ).Measurements: Older adults in Uganda were interviewed over the phone and asked about their lives before andsince COVID-19, and how public health restrictions have affected their lives. Semi-structured interviews wereaudio-recorded, transcribed and translated into English. Transcripts were thematically analyzed and themesgenerated in discussion.Results: In total, 30 older adults participated in the study. Five themes were identified: (1) economic impacts;(2) lack of access to basic necessities; (3) impact on healthcare utilization; (4) social impacts and (5) violentreinforcement of public health restrictions. COVID-19 public health restrictions had severe impacts on theirlives, with many people having not enough food to eat due to lack of income, and being unable to pay theirgrandchildrenâs school fees. Steep rises in public transport fares and an overall avoidance of transport alsoresulted in a lack of access to healthcare services and difficulty in getting food. Restrictions were violentlyreinforced by security guards.Conclusions: Public health restrictions have a severe impact not only on older adults but also on the whole familyin Uganda. Governmental strategies to contain the virus need to provide more support to enable people to getbasic necessities and live as normal a life as possible.Key words: Ageing, COVID-19, Developing countries, public health
