scholarly journals Factors associated with virtual care access in older adults: a cross-sectional study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Liu ◽  
Zahra Goodarzi ◽  
Aaron Jones ◽  
Ron Posno ◽  
Sharon E Straus ◽  
...  

Abstract Background virtual care has been critical during the COVID-19 pandemic, but there may be inequities in accessing different virtual modalities (i.e. telephone or videoconference). Objective to describe patient-specific factors associated with receiving different virtual care modalities. Design cross-sectional study. Setting and Subjects we reviewed medical records of all patients assessed virtually in the geriatric medicine clinic at St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Canada, between 17 March and 13 July 2020. Methods we derived adjusted odds ratios (OR), risk differences (RDs) and marginal and predicted probabilities, with 95% confidence intervals, from a multivariable logistic regression model, which tested the association between having a videoconference assessment (vs. telephone) and patient age, sex, computer ability, education, frailty (Clinical Frailty Scale score), history of cognitive impairment and immigration history; language of assessment and caregiver involvement in assessment. Results our study included 330 patients (227 telephone and 103 videoconference assessments). The median population age was 83 (Q1–Q3, 76–88) and 45.2% were male. Frailty (adjusted OR 0.62, 0.45–0.85; adjusted RD −0.08, −0.09 to −0.06) and absence of a caregiver (adjusted OR 0.12, 0.06–0.24; adjusted RD −0.35, −0.43 to −0.26) were associated with lower odds of videoconference assessment. Only 32 of 98 (32.7%) patients who independently use a computer participated in videoconference assessments. Conclusions older adults who are frail or lack a caregiver to attend assessments with them may not have equitable access to videoconference-based virtual care. Future research should evaluate interventions that support older adults in accessing videoconference assessments.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Liu ◽  
Zahra Goodarzi ◽  
Aaron Jones ◽  
Ron Posno ◽  
Sharon Straus ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual care (i.e. telephone or videoconference) has played a critical role. However, concerns were raised regarding equitable access for older adults, in particular, given potential advantages of videoconference-as opposed to telephone-based assessment. Our objective was to describe patient-specific factors associated with different modes of virtual healthcare.MethodsWe reviewed medical records of all patients assessed virtually in the geriatric medicine clinic at St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Canada, between March 17 and July 13, 2020. We derived adjusted odds ratios (OR), risk differences (RD), and marginal and predicted probabilities, with 95% confidence intervals, from a multivariable logistic regression model, which tested the association between having a videoconference assessment (vs. a telephone assessment) and patient age, sex, ability to use a computer, education, frailty (measured on the Clinical Frailty Scale), history of cognitive impairment, and immigration history; language of assessment, and caregiver involvement in assessment.ResultsOur study included 330 patients (227 telephone and 103 videoconference assessments). Frailty (adjusted OR 0.62, 0.45 to 0.85; adjusted RD -0.08, -0.09 to -0.06) and absence of a caregiver (adjusted OR 0.12, 0.06 to 0.24; adjusted RD -0.35, -0.43 to -0.26) were associated with lower odds of videoconference assessment. For example, an 80-year-old woman with mild frailty who immigrated to Canada, speaks English, attained a post-secondary education, does not have cognitive impairment, and uses a computer had a 60% (39% to 80%) predicted probability of videoconference assessment if a caregiver was present compared to 15% (3% to 26%) without a caregiver. Only 32 of 98 (32.7%) patients who could independently use a computer participated in videoconference assessments.ConclusionGiven the recent expansion of virtual care, we must urgently implement and evaluate strategies that optimise equitable access to videoconference-based virtual care for older adults.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Murto ◽  
C. Kaplan ◽  
L. Ariza ◽  
K. Schwarz ◽  
C. H. Alencar ◽  
...  

In Brazil, leprosy is endemic and concentrated in high-risk clusters. Internal migration is common in the country and may influence leprosy transmission and hamper control efforts. We performed a cross-sectional study with two separate analyses evaluating factors associated with migration in Brazil’s Northeast: one among individuals newly diagnosed with leprosy and the other among a clinically unapparent population with no symptoms of leprosy for comparison. We included 394 individuals newly diagnosed with leprosy and 391 from the clinically unapparent population. Of those with leprosy, 258 (65.5%) were birth migrants, 105 (26.6%) were past five-year migrants, and 43 (10.9%) were circular migrants. In multivariate logistic regression, three independent factors were found to be significantly associated with migration among those with leprosy: (1) alcohol consumption, (2) separation from family/friends, and (3) difficulty reaching the healthcare facility. Separation from family/friends was also associated with migration in the clinically unapparent population. The health sector may consider adapting services to meet the needs of migrating populations. Future research is needed to explore risks associated with leprosy susceptibility from life stressors, such as separation from family and friends, access to healthcare facilities, and alcohol consumption to establish causal relationships.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Ting Peng ◽  
Ying-Hsin Hsu ◽  
Ming-Yueh Chou ◽  
Che-sheng Chu ◽  
Chen-San Su ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Insomnia is a common sleep disturbance in older adults and is associated with many poor health outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the relevance of insomnia in older adult outpatients and to analyze differences between genders in factors associated with insomnia.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the outpatient clinics of a tertiary hospital in Southern Taiwan from July to September 2018. A total of 400 consecutive subjects aged 60 years or older were recruited. Insomnia was defined as a score of > 6 points on the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS). Socio-demographics, health behaviors and clinical data were collected by face-to-face interview. Multivariable logistic regression was adopted for statistical analysis of the entire sample and stratified by gender.Results: Participants’ mean age was 74.74 ± 8.54 years, and the majority (93%) had more than one chronic disease. The prevalence of insomnia accounted for 30% (120/400) of all subjects, with males 22.9% (46/201) and females 37.2% (74/199). Gender, appetite, exercise, depressive symptoms, and sleep-related conditions such as short sleep duration, sleeping pills usage, medium-high risk of obstructive sleep apnea(OSA) and restless leg syndrome(RLS) were factors associated with insomnia in older adults. Exercise, sleeping pills usage, and RLS had an independent association with insomnia only in men, while appetite was associated with insomnia in women only.Conclusions: Insomnia is highly prevalent among older adults, predominantly females. Significant differences are found between genders in factors associated with insomnia. Understanding gender differences may help clinicians to modify associated factors when managing older adults with insomnia.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. e0242942
Author(s):  
Uday Narayan Yadav ◽  
Tarka Bahadur Thapa ◽  
Sabuj Kanti Mistry ◽  
Saruna Ghimire ◽  
Krishna Kumar Yadav ◽  
...  

Background The ageing population in most low-and middle-income countries is accompanied by an increased risk of non-communicable diseases culminating in a poor quality of life (QOL). However, the factors accelerating this poor QOL have not been fully examined in Nepal. Therefore, this study examined the factors associated with the QOL of older adults residing in the rural setting of Nepal. Methods Data from a previous cross-sectional study conducted among older adults between January and April 2018 in in rural Nepal was used in this study. The analytical sample included 794 older adults aged ≥60 years, selected by a multi-stage cluster sampling approach. QOL was measured using the Older People’s Quality of Life tool; dichotomized as poor and good QOL. Other measures used included age, gender, ethnicity, religion, marital status, physical activity, and chronic diseases such as osteoarthritis, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and depression. The factors associated with QOL were examined using mixed-effects logistic regression. Results Seven in ten respondents (70.4%) reported a poor QOL. At the bivariate level, increasing age, unemployment, intake of alcohol, lack of physical activity as well as osteoarthritis, COPD and depression were significantly associated with a lower likelihood of a good QOL. The adjusted model showed that older age (AOR = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.28–0.90), the Christian religion (AOR = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.20–0.70), and of an Indigenous (AOR: 0.25; 95% CI: 0.14–0.47), Dalit (AOR: 0.23; 95% CI: 0.10–0.56), and Madheshi (AOR: 0.29; 95% CI: 0.14–0.60) ethnic background were associated with lower odds of good QOL. However, higher income of >NRs 10,000 (AOR = 3.34, 95% CI: 1.43–3.99), daily physical activity (AOR: 3.33; 95% CI: 2.55–4.34), and the absence of osteoarthritis (AOR: 1.9; 95% CI: 1.09–3.49) and depression (AOR: 3.34; 95% CI: 2.14–5.22) were associated with higher odds of good QOL. Conclusion The findings of this study reinforce the need of improving QOL of older adults through implementing programs aimed at addressing the identified biosocial and disease conditions that catalyse poor QOL in this older population residing in rural parts of Nepal.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (9) ◽  
pp. 2375-2381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reshma A. Merchant ◽  
Shumei Germaine Liu ◽  
Jia Yi Lim ◽  
Xiaoxi Fu ◽  
Yiong Huak Chan

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernanda Maria Vieira Pereira-Ávila ◽  
Simon Ching Lam ◽  
Maithê de Carvalho e Lemos Goulart ◽  
Fernanda Garcia Bezerra Góes ◽  
Natália Maria Vieira Pereira-Caldeira ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Objective: to identify factors associated with depressive symptoms among older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: a cross-sectional study developed in all regions of Brazil, using an electronic form among older adults aged 60 or over. Data were collected from April 17 to May 15, 2020. Measures of central tendency and dispersion were used. For comparison of means, Student’s t-test and analysis of variance were applied, considering p≤0.05. For association of factors, chi-square was adopted with bivariate analyzes and logistic regression. Results: nine hundred (100.0%) older adults participated in the study. The general score for symptoms of depression was 3.8 (SD=4.4), 818 (91.9%) had no or mild depressive symptoms. Women (p <0.01) have more symptoms than men. The income variable is a predictor of depressive symptoms (OR=0.56; CI: 0.34-0.91; p=0.020). Conclusion: the main factors associated with symptoms of depression were sex, income, education and occupations that expose them to COVID-19 had the highest depression scores.


Author(s):  
Maycon Sousa Pegorari ◽  
Caroline de Fátima Ribeiro Silva ◽  
Fabrícia Coelho de Araújo ◽  
Juliana de Souza da Silva ◽  
Daniela Gonçalves Ohara ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 243-251
Author(s):  
Grace Sum ◽  
Yun Ru Tan ◽  
Song-Iee Hong ◽  
Gerald Choon-Huat Koh

Background: There is a rapidly ageing population globally, leading to a rise in subsidised public housing in many countries for older adults. According to the World Health Organisation, depression is the most prevalent mental disorder in older adults. There is a gap in literature on the factors associated with depression in those residing in studio apartments for older adults, characterised by small living spaces and isolated community settings. Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the associations between socio-demographic variables, social support, self-perceived health and mental status, life satisfaction, exercise, physical functioning, chronic conditions, and the use of eldercare services, with depressive symptoms. Methods: We utilised a cross-sectional study of older adults aged ⩾55 years residing in Singapore’s studio apartments. Multivariable logistic regression was applied. Results: Widowhood was associated with depressive symptoms, compared to being married or having a domestic partner (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.70, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.01 to 2.86). Odds of depressive symptoms were associated with difficulty bathing and showering (AOR = 3.74, 95% CI = 1.06 to 13.21). Depressive symptoms were associated with cataract (AOR = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.01 to 2.77) and urinary tract disorder (AOR = 4.70, 95% CI = 1.21 to 18.26). There were dose-response relationships between higher odds of depressive symptoms and poorer social support, self-perceived mental health, life satisfaction, and exercise behaviour ( p for trend < 0.001). Conclusion: Factors including widowhood, physical functioning difficulty, chronic conditions, low social support, low self-perceived mental health, poor life satisfaction, and lack of exercise behaviour, were associated with depressive symptoms in older adults residing in studio apartments. More attention is needed to care for the psychosocial and physical needs of older adults in studio apartments.


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