ABSTRACT
Background: Shelter-in-place orders and service disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic created a risk of unmet healthrelated needs among older adults and those with disabilities, such as the ability to obtain medications or receive healthcare. To mitigate these risks, primary care clinics performed outreach calls to identify and address unmet needs. We examined the association with unmet needs and healthcare utilization. Methods: Four primary care clinics completed outreach calls, each with differing with at-risk populations: home-based, safety-net adult, academic geriatrics and safety-net HIV. Examined needs included medication refills, medical supplies, food insecurity, and telehealth capability. Utilization included urgent care, ER visits and hospitalizations, measured 3 months prior and 3 months after the call. We also report on COVID diagnosis and death in the 3 months after the outreach call. We show descriptive statistics and will use Poisson regression models to examine associations. Results: Thus far, we analyzed 165 of 500 total outreach calls. Mean age was 84.1, with 18% of patients >95, 71% female, 40% white, 33% Asian, 12% Black, and 15% Latinx. Forty five percent had both Medicare and Medi-Cal, 33% had Medicare and supplemental insurance, and 17% had Medicare only. Comorbid conditions were frequent: 69% had hypertension, 37% had dementia, 30% had depression. Unmet needs and care utilization are presented in Table 1. Conclusion: The pandemic has disrupted health and social care among older adults. Evaluation of associations between unmet needs and use of urgent healthcare services can inform future planning during crises to better meet the needs of community dwelling older adults.