Psychotherapy Engagement Before and After a Rapid Transition to Telehealth During COVID-19 for Older Adults With Dementia
Recommended Citation
Rossom R, Knowlton G, Yeh HH, Penfold R, Owen-Smith A, Hooker S, Simon G, Miller-Matero L, Akinyemi E, and Ahmedani B. Psychotherapy Engagement Before and After a Rapid Transition to Telehealth During COVID-19 for Older Adults With Dementia. J Appl Gerontol 2024.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-5-2024
Publication Title
Journal of applied gerontology
Abstract
Objective: To understand the impact of the transition to telehealth during COVID-19 on psychotherapy visits for patients with dementia. Method: Retrospective study of older adults with dementia who had at least one psychotherapy visit in the 9 months before and after the onset of COVID-19 at 3 U.S. health systems. Care disruptions were gaps of 45+ days. Descriptive statistics and logistic mixed-effects models examined factors associated with care disruption.
Results: 4953 patients with dementia made 19,902 psychotherapy visits. Gaps in psychotherapy were less frequent during COVID-19 (29.4%) than before (48.9%), with the odds of a patient experiencing a care disruption during COVID-19 0.54 times the odds prior to COVID-19 (95% CI: 0.50-0.59). Almost all patient subgroups had lower adjusted odds of care disruption during COVID-19.
Discussion: There were fewer disruptions in psychotherapy care following the rapid shift to virtual care. Telehealth may be a viable option for patients with dementia.
PubMed ID
39102577
ePublication
ePub ahead of print
