Abstract
The projected increase in chronically ill older adults may overburden the healthcare system and compromise the receipt of quality and coordinated health care services. Healthcare advocates (HCAs) may help to alleviate the burden associated with seeking and receiving appropriate health care. We examined whether having dementia or depression, along with hypertension and arthritis, or having no comorbid medical conditions, and being an older adult, affected the perceived likelihood of hiring an HCA to navigate the health care system. Participants (N = 1,134), age 18 or older, read a vignette and imagined themselves as an older adult with either a mood or cognitive disorder, and comorbid medical conditions or as otherwise being physically healthy. They were then asked to complete a questionnaire assessing their perceived likelihood of hiring an HCA. Participants who imagined themselves as having dementia reported a greater likelihood of hiring an HCA than participants who imagined themselves as having depression (p < .001). It is imperative that health care professionals attend to the growing and ongoing needs of older adults living with chronic conditions, and HCAs could play an important role in meeting those needs.
Highlights
America has over 46 million adults aged 65 or older, most of whom are baby boomers—those born between 1946 and 1964 (Administration on Aging, 2015; Mather, Jacobsen, & Pollard, 2015)
The results indicated that the likelihood of hiring an Healthcare advocates (HCAs) was significantly greater for participants assigned to a dementia condition (M = 8.97, SD = 1.82) than for participants assigned to a depression condition (M = 8.02, SD = 2.39), t(1140) = 7.58 p < 0.001
For participants who read vignettes in which the individual was described as having comorbid arthritis and hypertension, arthritis was rated as having a greater influence on their reported likelihood of hiring an HCA (M = 6.14, SD = 2.55) than hypertension (M = 5.79, SD = 2.64; t(561) = 4.36, p < 0.001)
Summary
America has over 46 million adults aged 65 or older, most of whom are baby boomers—those born between 1946 and 1964 (Administration on Aging, 2015; Mather, Jacobsen, & Pollard, 2015). We examined whether having dementia or depression, along with hypertension and arthritis, or having no comorbid medical conditions, and being an older adult, affected the perceived likelihood of hiring an HCA to navigate the health care system. Method: Participants (N = 1,134), age 18 or older, read a vignette and imagined themselves as an older adult with either a mood or cognitive disorder, and comorbid medical conditions or as otherwise being physically healthy. They were asked to complete a questionnaire assessing their perceived likelihood of hiring an HCA. Conclusion: It is imperative that health care professionals attend to the growing and ongoing needs of older adults living with chronic conditions, and HCAs could play an important role in meeting those needs
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