ABSTRACT
Persons with newly diagnosed Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) and their care partners confront multiple challenges. These challenges have been even greater during the COVID-19 pandemic, where supportive resources often are limited or even discontinued. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 21 care partners of persons who were recently diagnosed with ADRD (2019-2020) to explore their lived experiences of adjusting to the new role. Directed and conventional content analyses were used and were informed by the life course theory. Care partners perceived difficulty in accessing medical and social services for their loved ones, particularly during the pandemic. Despite experiencing distress, some care partners chose not to seek help for fear of contracting COVID-19. This study provides insights on the unmet needs of care partners during a pandemic and highlights that effective, long-term strategies are needed to continue providing person-centered care to persons with ADRD and their families.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To analyze the impact of the first month of lockdown related to the 2020 SARS-Cov-2 epidemic on the consulting activity of private ENT physicians in Réunion Island. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A multicenter prospective study analyzed the consulting activity of 12 ENT physicians in full-time private practice. The main endpoints were the number, characteristics and conditions of consultations. Secondary endpoints comprised presenting symptoms, diagnosis, prescriptions, adverse effects, and progression of monthly consulting turnover. RESULTS: Six hundred and ninety three consultations were performed during the study period (Appendix 1), with 50% emergency consultations. In 57.9% were face-to-face, 28.4% by phone and 13.7% video. In face-to-face consultation, the physician wore gloves in 53.8% of cases and a mask in 92.2%: surgical mask in 71.6% of cases and FFP2 in 28.4%. The three most frequent symptoms (48.5% of cases) were otalgia, hearing impairment, and vertigo. The three most frequent diagnoses (60.6% of cases) were otitis, intra-auricular foreign body (including wax), and pharyngeal infection. The three most frequently prescribed complementary exams (74.3% of cases) were imaging, hearing work-up, and specialist opinion. The three most frequently prescribed treatments (52.7% of cases) were intra-auricular drops, oral antibiotics, and nasal spray. The incidence of adverse effects was 0.001%. None of the physicians or patients seemed to have been infected by Covid-19 during the study period. There was a 47.3-91% (median, 75.6%) drop in monthly consultation turnover. CONCLUSION: The present study underscored the availability and adaptability of ENT physicians in the Réunion Island in an epidemic context, although economic impact was detrimental.