Elderly research participants feel safe to continue study amid COVID-19

Amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, elderly participants of clinical research studies believe that medical centres can ensure safety, a recent study has found.

“Knowing patientsʼ and caregiverʼs perspectives may help researchers be better prepared for future pandemics. Two such measures could be investing in ways to send timely and accurate messages to patients and their caregivers and offering more telehealth options during pandemics,” researchers said.

The study included 51 elderly participants in clinical research studies and their caregivers. Participants were given questions regarding their safety perceptions of the study visits, the medical centre’s preparedness to handle the pandemic and their sources of COVID-19 information. Patients answered in 5-point Likert scales.

Most of the participants (78 percent) responded that they felt safe or very safe attending the schedule research appointment, while 66 percent noted that the screening steps the centre took added to the sense of security. Eighty-two percent said they thought the medical centre was prepared or very prepared to deal with the pandemic.

Eighty-two percent likewise said that they were likely or very likely to recommend that other people keep their medical appointments. Despite this, half of the eligible participants opted for phone vs in-person follow-ups.

Perceptions about the pandemic was influenced by a sex and the source of information. Females, for example, had higher panic scores than males (4.8 vs 4.2; p=0.02), while those who relied on television reports felt safer to attend their in-person visit (4.8 vs 3.9; p=0.008), as opposed to those who got their information from family members.