Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Objective
To understand the perceptions of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare communication with family caregivers.Design
Nationally representative survey.Setting
USA (national).Participants
340 family caregivers, demographically representative of the US population by race/ethnicity.Primary outcome measures
Communication outcomes (feeling involved by the provider, feeling involved by the care recipient, feeling more encouraged to be involved in care, feeling contributory to discussions, feeling questions are being answered), behavioural/wellness outcomes (feeling anxious, feeling isolated, feeling it is easier to attend the clinic visit), and desire to continue using telemedicine.Results
Having less than a college degree was associated with decreased odds of feeling involved by the provider (OR 0.46; 95% CI 0.26 to 0.83; p=0.01), feeling involved by the care recipient (OR 0.44; 95% CI 0.24 to 0.79; p=0.01), feeling more encouraged to be involved in care (OR 0.49; 95% CI 0.27 to 0.86; p=0.01), feeling like they contribute to discussions (OR 0.45; 95% CI 0.25 to 0.82; p=0.01) and feeling like their questions are being answered (OR 0.33; 95% CI 0.18 to 0.60; p<0.001).Conclusion
In our sample, the shift to telemedicine during COVID-19 was well received but caregivers of low educational attainment reported poorer health communication, and a greater proportion of black/African American and Hispanic caregivers reported a desire to return to in-person visits. There is an opportunity to improve health systems and increase equity as telemedicine becomes more widespread.
SUBMITTER: Bratches RWR
PROVIDER: S-EPMC9016173 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

Bratches Reed W R RWR Freundlich Noah Z NZ Dionne-Odom J Nicholas JN O'Malley A James AJ Barr Paul J PJ
BMJ open 20220413 4
<h4>Objective</h4>To understand the perceptions of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare communication with family caregivers.<h4>Design</h4>Nationally representative survey.<h4>Setting</h4>USA (national).<h4>Participants</h4>340 family caregivers, demographically representative of the US population by race/ethnicity.<h4>Primary outcome measures</h4>Communication outcomes (feeling involved by the provider, feeling involved by the care recipient, feeling more encouraged to be involved ...[more]