Telehealth access and experiences of older adults with HIV during the COVID ‐19 pandemic: Lessons for the future

作者：Emily V. Reyes, Janelle Silvis, Monica Gandhi, Ying Shi, Meredith Greene · 发表于：Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1111/jgs.18970 · 被引用次数：10 · 研究领域：Telemedicine and Telehealth Implementation、Technology Use by Older Adults、HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions

BACKGROUND: Telehealth services are proposed to improve access and retention to care for people with HIV (PWH). Yet the rapid uptake of telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic created equity concerns, especially for already vulnerable populations. Older PWH may face a combination of barriers to telehealth but also stand to benefit given social isolation and the need for multimorbidity management. Few studies have focused on this population, and we aimed to assess the telehealth capability and experiences of older PWH at an urban HIV clinic. METHODS: We did this in two ways: (1) we contacted PWH aged ≥65 via telephone about telehealth capabilities and (2) we conducted focus groups with older PWH who transitioned from in-person to virtual classes affiliated with the clinic. RESULTS: Among 179 PWH aged ≥65, 80 answered the telehealth questions. Among those who answered, 91% were male with a mean age of 69 (SD 3.0), and 55% were White. One-third did not have internet access or an email address. A total of 65% had at least one telehealth-capable device but 12.5% of respondents with a device did not know how to use it. Thirteen older PWH participated in focus groups with a mean age of 64 (SD 6.9) and 44% female. Themes were grouped into benefits (social/emotional connection and convenience) and challenges (technological barriers and missed in-person experience). CONCLUSION: Participants preferred in-person classes but felt telehealth was a good alternative for mitigating i...