Telehealth Use in Geriatrics Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic—A Scoping Review and Evidence Synthesis

Abstract

Introduction: Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected older people disproportionately. Prior to the pandemic, some studies reported that telehealth was an efficient and effective form of health care delivery, particularly for older people. There has been increased use of telehealth and publication of new literature on this topic during the pandemic, so we conducted a scoping review and evidence synthesis for telehealth use in geriatric care to summarize learning from these new data. Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, and the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 global research database for articles published between 1 January and 20 August 2020. We included 79 articles that met our inclusion criteria. The information collected has been synthesized and presented as descriptive statistics. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) have also been discussed. Results: The articles included in our review provide some evidence of effective provision of preventive, curative, and rehabilitative telehealth services for older people, but they highlight a greater focus on curative services and are mostly concentrated in high-income countries. We identified convenience and affordability as the strengths of telehealth use in geriatric care. Weaknesses identified include the inability of telehealth to cater to the needs of older people with specific physical and cognitive limitations. While the threats of increasing inequity and the lack of standardization in the provision of age-friendly telehealth services remain, we identified opportunities for technologic advancements driven by simplicity and user-friendliness for older people. Conclusion: Telehealth offers futuristic promise for the provision of essential health care services for older people worldwide. However, the extent of these services via telehealth appears to be currently limited in low and low-middle income countries. Optimizing telehealth services that can be accessed by older people requires greater government investments and active engagement by broader participation of older people, their caregivers, physicians and other health care providers, technology experts, and health managers.

The Impact of a Telehealth Intervention on Activity Profiles in Older Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Pilot Study

“…Moreover, the effectiveness of delivering health-related information intended for behavior change through telehealth is equal to that of print-based delivery [ 10 ]. While telehealth presents a promising platform for conducting interventions, telehealth interventions need to be further examined in older populations [ 11 , 12 ], particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic [ 13 ]. Our pilot study sought to examine how a telehealth intervention changed activity profiles in older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Optimising specialist geriatric medicine services by telehealth

“…1 Telehealth can deliver health services across distances via information technology increasing access to care for vulnerable populations. 2,3…”

“…1 Telehealth can deliver health services across distances via information technology increasing access to care for vulnerable populations. 2,3 Telehealth has increased access to geriatric care for older adults where mobility problems and the need to travel precludes specialist support. 3,4 An ageing population and growth in residential aged care 5 demands flexible access to geriatric care.…”

Barriers for Telemedicine Use Among Nonusers at the Beginning of the Pandemic

“…11 This finding shows that the uptake of telemedicine services and the increased use of these services among older adults may help ease their privacy concerns as they get more comfortable utilizing these services. 12 Future research should seek to understand ways that PCPs' information sharing about confidentiality and privacy with their older patients impacts the patient's telemedicine uptake and ways to ensure that the use of telemedicine will not impact their accessibility with their primary care person. 13,14 For example, studies could examine ways primary care offices and health systems can enhance support measures for older adults interested in telemedicine by providing written instructions on using these services for their telehealth visits and communicating in writing how their health information will be securely shared and stored.…”