How well did the healthcare system respond to the healthcare needs of older people with and without dementia during the COVID-19 pandemic : the perception of healthcare providers and older people from the SI4CARE Project in the ADRION Region

Fragkiadaki, Stella (author), Kontaxopolou, Dionysia (author), Šemrov, Darja (author), Colnar, Simon (author), Luštrek, Mitja (author), Blažica, Bojan (author), Dimovski, Vlado (author), Papageorgiou, Sokratis G. (author)

One major challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic was the limited accessibility to healthcare facilities, especially for the older population. The aim of the current study was the exploration of the extent to which the healthcare systems responded to the healthcare needs of the older people with or without cognitive impairment and their caregivers in the Adrion/Ionian region. Data were collected through e-questionnaires regarding the adequacy of the healthcare system and were anonymously administered to older individuals and stakeholder providers in the following countries: Slovenia, Italy (Calabria), Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Montenegro, and Serbia. Overall, 722 older people and 267 healthcare stakeholders participated in the study. During the COVID-19 pandemic, both healthcare stakeholders and the older population claimed that the healthcare needs of the older people and their caregivers increased dramatically in all countries, especially in Italy (Calabria), Croatia and BiH. According to our results, countries from the Adrion/Ionian regions faced significant challenges to adjust to the special needs of the older people during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was possibly due to limited accessibility opportunities to healthcare facilities. These results highlight the need for the development of alternative ways of providing medical assistance and supervision when in-person care is not possible.

• Language: English
• Keywords: healthcare system responses, COVID-19 pandemic, older people, cognitive impairment, dementia, caregivers, telemedicine, healthcare challenges, accessibility, Slovenia, Italy, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Montenegro, Adrion–Ionian region
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FGG - Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering; EF - School of Economics and Business
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2023
• Number of pages: Str. 1-13
• Numbering: Vol. 8, iss. 1, article no. 21
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-147630
• UDC: 614
• ISSN on article: 2308-3417
• DOI: 10.3390/geriatrics8010021
• COBISS.SI-ID: 140276227
• Publication date in RUL: 10.07.2023

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Geriatrics
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2308-3417
• COBISS.SI-ID: 526109977

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: odzivi zdravstvenega sistema, pandemija, izzivi zdravstvenega sistema, dostopnost, Slovenija, Italija, Srbija, Hrvaška, Bosna in Hercegovina, Grčija, Črna gora

Projects

• Funder: EC - European Commission
• Funding programme: Interreg ADRION Program funded under the European Regional Development Fund and IPA II fund
• Project number: 1228
• Name: Social Innovation for integrated health CARE of ageing population in ADRION Region
• Acronym: SI4CARE