The protective impact of telemedicine on persons with dementia and their caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic
The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
; 28(11):1175-1184, 2020.
Article
in English
| APA PsycInfo | ID: covidwho-1209828
ABSTRACT
Objectives:
Social distancing under the COVID-19 pandemic has restricted access to community services for older adults with neurocognitive disorder (NCD) and their caregivers. Telehealth is a viable alternative to face-to-face service delivery. Telephone calls alone, however, may be insufficient. Here, we evaluated whether supplementary telehealth via video-conferencing platforms could bring additional benefits to care-recipient with NCD and their spousal caregivers at home.Participants:
Sixty older adults NCD-and-caregiver dyads were recruited through an activity center. Design, Intervention The impact of additional services delivered to both care-recipient and caregiver through video conference (n = 30) was compared with telehealth targeted at caregivers by telephone only (n = 30), over 4 weeks in a pretest-post-test design. Interviews and questionnaires were conducted at baseline and study's end. Measurements,Results:
Supplementary telemedicine had averted the deterioration in the Montreal Cognitive Assessment evident in the telephone-only group (etap2 = 0.50). It also reversed the falling trend in quality of life observed in the telephone only group (QoL-AD, etap2 = 0.23). Varying degrees of improvements in physical and mental health (Short-Form 36 v2), perceived burden (Zarit Burden Interview Scale) and self-efficacy (Revised Caregiving Self-Efficacy Scale) were observed among caregivers in the video-conferencing group, which were absent in the telephone-only group (etap2 = 0.23-0.51).Conclusion:
Telemedicine by video conference was associated with improved resilience and wellbeing to both people with NCD and their caregivers at home. The benefits were visible already after 4 weeks and unmatched by telephone alone. Video conference as the modus operandi of telehmedicine beyond the context of pandemic-related social distancing should be considered. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)
Full text:
Available
Collection:
Databases of international organizations
Database:
APA PsycInfo
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
Language:
English
Journal:
The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
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