Discontinuation of health interventions among Brazilian older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic: REMOBILIZE Study

Juleimar Soares Coelho de Amorim, Giulianna Ornellas, Peter Lloyd-Sherlock, Daniele Sirineu Pereira, Alexandre da Silva, Etienne Duim, Camila Astolphi Lima, Monica Rodrigues Perracini

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3 Citations (Scopus)
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Abstract

The objective of this study was to analyze changes in access to health interventions during the pandemic among Brazilian older adults and to investigate the factors associated with social and health inequalities. We conducted an online survey with Brazilian adults aged 60 + years between May and June 2020. A multidimensional questionnaire was used to investigate access to health interventions during the pandemic and associated factors. Of 1482 participants, 56.5% reported health care before the pandemic, and 36.4% discontinued it during the pandemic. The discontinuation rate was 64.4% (95% CI 61.1-67.6). Participants with higher educational level (nine or more years of education: OR 0.34; 95% CI 0.17-0.70) and higher income (eight or more times the minimum wage: OR 0.54; 95% CI 0.36-0.81) were associated with less probability of discontinuation. Presenting multimorbidity (OR: 1.42; 95% CI 1.06-1.90) and polypharmacy (OR: 0.61; 95% CI 0.46-0.81) were associated with discontinuity in health interventions. Our study showed that structural health inequities in access to health care shaped the rates of discontinuation in health care interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Strategic actions should be set up to actively monitor socially vulnerable older adults and strengthen community-based services to mitigate the discontinuation of health care interventions.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)330-340
Number of pages11
JournalInternational Journal of Health Services
Volume52
Issue number3
Early online date11 Apr 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2022

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