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As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries have implemented preventive measures that may negatively affect the physical and mental health of older adults. This study aims to investigate the changes in life satisfaction, depressive symptoms and quality-of-life (QoL) of older adults during the post-COVID-19 pandemic in Oman.

A prospective four-week follow-up study was conducted in one health-care center in Muscat, Oman. Convenience sampling was used, and the recruitment was from November 2021 to October 2022, with 38 participants aged 60–81, of whom 36 completed the study. The study evaluated changes in psychological well-being over time and analyzed gender differences.

The study revealed a positive impact of the preventive measures on the QoL (F = 3.08, p = 0.032) and a reduction in depressive symptoms (F = 3.09, p = 0.045). However, there was no significant change in life satisfaction (F = 1.90, p = 0.165). In particular, older women reported decreased depression (F = 5.31, p = 0.006), while older men reported improved QoL (F = 4.27, p = 0.025).

Few studies have reported on the well-being issues of older adults in Oman during the pandemic. Thus, the findings of this study can contribute to the international understanding of the impact of pandemics on the well-being of older adults in Oman and help health-care professionals tailor health-care programs for older adults in the community setting.

This study provides valuable insights into the well-being of older adults in Oman during the pandemic. Understanding the effects of long-term health hazards is crucial for developing community-level intervention plans and strategies for older adults in the community setting.

This study aims to examine the relationship between tool adoption and information literacy within smallholder farmers (SHFs).

A structured questionnaire was used to gather data for this quantitative study from 225 SHFs. Structural equation modelling was done to test the hypotheses.

The findings established that tool adoption dimensions (Information and communication technologies (ICT) acceptance, language use and information culture) positively and significantly influenced information literacy. Information culture had the strongest impact.

The study enriches the situated learning theory (SLT) literature by introducing tool adoption as a predictor of information literacy in a new context of SHFs. Use of tools as independent variables is a positive deviation from previous studies that have used them as mediating variables. Despite the contributions, the cross-sectional design study undermines the ability to solicit more detailed perspectives from the lived in experience of the respondents.

Managers should promote usage of context-specific tools like local radio stations and mobile phones, but also use language tailored to farmer contexts when disseminating information. Policymakers should leverage on social and cultural settings when designing information interventions.

The study highlights critical factors that significantly promote information use for improved productivity for SHFs, cumulatively increasing the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Socially, findings may reduce on their poverty levels of farmers.

This study offers a novel perspective in information literacy domain by using the SLT to delineate contextual tools that are paramount in predicting of information literacy in an under research informal context of SHFs.