Lasting effects of the pandemic lockdown on health and wealth

February 13, 2021 | by

A PR hook for healthcare-related companies is a survey that tells us More Bad News about the effects of the pandemic and the US lockdown. Some of it is marketing content scrum, but the quantification of lasting effects has value.

  • Early surveys came from non-profits working with (largely) non-vendors, such as the Epic Health Research Network and Commonwealth Fund/Harvard/Phreesia studies.
  • Then later tracking studies such as those published in PLOS One, by FAIR Health and the Harvard study published in Health Affairs.
  • Focused studies such as those by GoodRx, the prescription discounter, with a surprisingly deep survey concentrating on the CoronaDepressed–mental health and the worsening of anxiety and depression, inferring from prescription usage. SECOM CareTech in the UK concentrated on the effects of ‘lockdown loneliness’ on older adults.

The latest survey comes from another free prescription coupon platform, RxSaver, concentrating on financial and medication adherence:

  • 51 percent of adults reported a negative financial impact resulting from the pandemic. 65 percent of them were Hispanic.
  • Over 60 percent of millennials reported continuing financial impact one year after the pandemic’s start.
  • Where are they economizing? Unsurprisingly, medication.
    • 15 percent of adults surveyed stopped taking medication in the past year. Of this group, the under 30 cohort comprised the largest demographic segment at 23 percent.
    • Trying to manage, 21 percent have used a prescription savings coupon, but 31 percent either didn’t fill prescriptions, skipped doses, or split their pills/capsules–all of which are risky.

Phoenix Research performed a Public Insights Survey for RxSaver, N=1,000 nationally representative adults ages 18 and older, and performed 20-22 January. There was no disclosure on survey methodology. This Editor hopes that other entities use this directional information in conducting larger and less product promotional research to be used by health organizations and policy groups. RxSaver web page, release.

Weekend Must Read: The Future of Remote Care Technology and Older Adults 2020

December 10, 2020 | by | 1 Comment

Laurie Orlov, founder of Aging and Health Technology Watch and well-known industry analyst/advocate in health and aging-related technologies, has released her latest report, The Future of Remote Care Technology and Older Adults 2020 (PDF, free download). Recently, Laurie and I had an opportunity to catch up and review her findings.

This Editor immediately went to the ‘bleed lead’ which was:

COVID-19 HARMED THE WELLBEING OF OLDER ADULTS
Gap in technology access widened into connection chasm

The University of Michigan study from June (cited above and elsewhere in the report) illustrates the change in social isolation for those aged 50 to 80, with numbers that were slightly high to begin with in 2018. Isolation rocketed to 56 percent, putting a Klieg light on mental health that we’ve seen continued in the recent ‘lockdown loneliness’ PLOS One and SECOM studies. The reasons why will be no surprise, as they’re true for nearly all: a screeching halt to in-person experiences, severing in-person connections with family and friends, closing the doors of senior living and nursing homes to visitors (still closed in many states!), breaking healthcare contacts with providers, and losing timely diagnosis of health conditions, new and ongoing.

Most of the report documents the consequences: how telehealth rose, then fell (Epic and Commonwealth Fund last reports), how the experience wasn’t entirely satisfactory and held multiple structural limitations (e.g. tech, vision, hearing, dexterity) for the 50-80 age group (nor providers in obtaining a physical sense of the patient)–a POV you won’t see in mainstream healthcare/tech media nor the funding markets–and how technologies scrambled to fill the gaps (with plenty of examples).

But moving on to the future, which is the aim of this report, there are many gaps which need to be closed that are bigger than Teladongo:

  • synchronous and asynchronous telehealth–the latter primarily remote patient monitoring (RPM)
  • adoption of voice tech
  • broadband and device access, including training and management
  • governmental policy at all levels from Federal to local, including payer reimbursement

The last section of the report (page 18 to end) takes a look at where innovations could take remote care, where expectations are now, and where the opportunities are in connecting older adults. On page 22, there is a checklist for care providers and what they must consider in managing remote care. The summary of the future on page 23 wraps it all nicely.

The Future of Remote Care Technology and Older Adults 2020 (PDF, free download)

 

Lockdown Loneliness feared more than COVID-19 by nearly 1 in 6 over-65 Britons: study

December 10, 2020 | by

Even with Margaret Keenan, 91, being the first person outside of the Pfizer clinical trial to receive a COVID-19 jab (that’s a vaccination to us Yanks) at Coventry Hospital on V-day 8 December, the Lockdown Blues will continue to play for the foreseeable future, right through the holidays and festive season. Last month this Editor noted a multi-country PLOS One study that pegged UK self-reported loneliness at 27 percent in the survey (March-April) period. 49 to 70 percent of respondents reported feeling isolated. Overall, “Being younger, female, having lower socioeconomic status, a pre-existing mental health condition, and living alone increased the odds of being lonely.” The survey was conducted via social media, so many of the findings detailed the effects among a younger group of adults.

28 percent of older Britons also believe that lockdown and enforced isolation have affected their mental health. A new study from SECOM CareTech that concentrated on older adults confirms even more depressing (sic) mental health findings in the older age group. Of their survey group of 500 people in the UK aged 65 and over (infographic at left):

  • Nearly 1 in 6 were more afraid of loneliness than COVID-19–and this is a group at high risk, with over 50 percent with one or multiple chronic conditions. A sample verbatim quoted: “I get depressed being in the house all the time, but I am too frightened to take the risk of going out even for a walk.”
  • Over half are worried about spending Christmas without their family. Another verbatim: “I seem to have nothing to look forward to now and the prospect of Christmas looks grim.”
  • 28 percent confirmed that COVID-19 had affected their mental health–of those, more than a quarter indicated that loneliness or not being able to see their family was a contributing factor.
  • 39 percent also reported that they had trouble sleeping. Verbatim: “I’ve had sleepless nights since the Covid-19 pandemic & lockdown… I’m constantly worried with the whole situation.”

What to do? Neil Fitzwalter, the care technology manager at SECOM CareTech, said, “More needs to be done to help those in long-term lockdown. That’s why we will be calling each of our CareTech customers on Christmas Day to wish them a Merry Christmas and make sure they’re okay.” Those on the monitoring teams will also be ‘signposting’ customers in the event they are experiencing a mental health crisis.