Abstract
Background: Many healthcare services were cancelled or postponed during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, likely impacting the management of chronic conditions prevalent among older adults in Ireland. Methods: Data from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing COVID-19 study and previous waves were used. Taking healthcare demand into account, the relationship between delayed healthcare utilisation among older adults (≥50) with chronic conditions was examined. Further analyses examined the reasons for delays in healthcare utilisation, and whether they were the result of the reduced availability of healthcare services or participant decisions. Results: In total, 31.6% of participants reported experiencing healthcare delay. The first analysis found that older adults with two or more chronic conditions were more likely to have experienced healthcare delay than those with no chronic conditions (odds ratio (OR): 1.46, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.11, 1.90). The second analysis found that older adults with two or more chronic conditions were more likely to have healthcare delayed by the provider (OR: 1.73, 95% CI: 1.16, 2.56), and were also more likely to delay their own healthcare (OR: 1.62, 95% CI: 1.14, 2.29) than older adults with no chronic conditions. Additionally, people aged 70 years and over, females, those with problematic alcohol consumption, those with third-level education, those who had visited the GP and those who reported polypharmacy were all more likely to experience healthcare delay, while older adults living with others and those living outside Dublin were less likely to experience healthcare delay. Conclusion: COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the healthcare utilisation of older adults in Ireland, with some groups of older adults impacted more than others. Policy and practice must now focus on how the healthcare needs of these groups can be best served. Further research is required to understand the impact of healthcare delays on health outcomes.
Highlights
The first case of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was diagnosed in the Republic of Ireland on the 29th February 2020 (RTÉ)
This study found that older adults with two or more chronic conditions were more likely to have healthcare delayed during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic
We found that older adults living in another urban setting in Ireland were less likely to experience healthcare delay than older adults living in Dublin
Summary
The first case of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was diagnosed in the Republic of Ireland on the 29th February 2020 (RTÉ). It is likely that the closure of these services impacted the healthcare utilisation of older adults and in particular those with chronic conditions as frequent users of healthcare services. This study seeks to examine the relationship between delayed healthcare utilisation and older adults with chronic conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland, with a particular focus on those with multimorbidity. Many healthcare services were cancelled or postponed during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, likely impacting the management of chronic conditions prevalent among older adults in Ireland. Taking healthcare demand into account, the relationship between delayed healthcare utilisation among older adults (≥50) with chronic conditions was examined. The first analysis found that older adults with two or more chronic conditions were more likely to have experienced healthcare delay than those with no chronic conditions (odds ratio (OR): 1.46, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.11, 1.90). People aged 70 years and over, females, those with problematic alcohol consumption, those with third-level education, those who had visited the GP and those who reported polypharmacy were all more likely to experience healthcare delay, while older adults living with others and those living outside Dublin were less likely to experience healthcare delay
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