A digital divide in the COVID-19 pandemic: information exchange among older Medicare beneficiaries and stakeholders during the COVID-19 pandemic

作者：Aaron Castillo, Maricruz Rivera‐Hernandez, Kyle Moody · 发表于：BMC Geriatrics · 年份：2023 · DOI：10.1186/s12877-022-03674-4 · 被引用次数：11 · 研究领域：Telemedicine and Telehealth Implementation、COVID-19 and Mental Health、Geriatric Care and Nursing Homes

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in unprecedented challenges for older adults. Medicare enrollment was already an overwhelming process for a high fraction of older adults pre-pandemic. Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative study was to gain understanding from community organizations and stakeholders about their pre-pandemic and during-pandemic experiences while adapting to continue offering insurance advice to seniors, what resources are available to seniors, and what needs to be done to help seniors make higher quality insurance choices in the Medicare program. In addition, we wanted to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic may have changed the ways that these stakeholders interacted with Medicare beneficiaries. METHODS: We employed a qualitative strategy to gain a deep understanding of the challenges that these organizations may have faced while offering advice/counseling to older adults. We accomplished this by interviewing a group of 30 stakeholders from different states. RESULTS: Every stakeholder mentioned that some older adults have difficulty making Medicare decisions, and 16 stakeholders mentioned that their system is complex and/or overwhelming for older adults. Twenty-three stakeholders mentioned that Medicare beneficiaries are often confused about Medicare, and this is more noticeable among new enrollees. With the onset of the pandemic, 22 of these organizations mentioned that they had to move to a virtual model in order to assist beneficiaries, especia...