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Frontiers in psychiatry
2020;11 598356.

Connecting During COVID-19: A Protocol of a Volunteer-Based Telehealth Program for Supporting Older Adults' Health.

Elena Dikaios, Harmehr Sekhon, Alexandre Allard, Blanca Vacaflor, Allana Goodman, Emmett Dwyer, Paola Lavin-Gonzalez, Artin Mahdanian, Haley Park, Chesley Walsh, Neeti Sasi, Rim Nazar, Johanna Gruber, Chien-Lin Su, Cezara Hanganu, Isabelle Royal, Alessandra Schiavetto, Karin Cinalioglu, Christina Rigas, Cyrille Launay, Olivier Beauchet, Emily McDonald, Dallas Seitz, Sanjeev Kumar, Vasavan Nair, Marc Miresco, Marie-Andrée Bruneau, George Alexopoulos, Karl Looper, Ipsit Vahia, Soham Rej, Syeda Nayab Bukhari
Author Information
  1. Elena Dikaios: McGill Meditation and Mind-Body Medicine Research Clinic and GeriPARTy Research Group, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada.
  2. Harmehr Sekhon: McGill Meditation and Mind-Body Medicine Research Clinic and GeriPARTy Research Group, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada.
  3. Alexandre Allard: Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
  4. Blanca Vacaflor: Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
  5. Allana Goodman: Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada.
  6. Emmett Dwyer: Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada.
  7. Paola Lavin-Gonzalez: McGill Meditation and Mind-Body Medicine Research Clinic and GeriPARTy Research Group, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada.
  8. Artin Mahdanian: Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
  9. Haley Park: McGill Meditation and Mind-Body Medicine Research Clinic and GeriPARTy Research Group, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada.
  10. Chesley Walsh: Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada.
  11. Neeti Sasi: McGill Meditation and Mind-Body Medicine Research Clinic and GeriPARTy Research Group, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada.
  12. Rim Nazar: McGill Meditation and Mind-Body Medicine Research Clinic and GeriPARTy Research Group, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada.
  13. Johanna Gruber: Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada.
  14. Chien-Lin Su: Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
  15. Cezara Hanganu: Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada.
  16. Isabelle Royal: Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada.
  17. Alessandra Schiavetto: Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada.
  18. Karin Cinalioglu: McGill Meditation and Mind-Body Medicine Research Clinic and GeriPARTy Research Group, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada.
  19. Christina Rigas: McGill Meditation and Mind-Body Medicine Research Clinic and GeriPARTy Research Group, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada.
  20. Cyrille Launay: Division of Geriatric Medicine, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada.
  21. Olivier Beauchet: Division of Geriatric Medicine, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada.
  22. Emily McDonald: McGill University Health Center Research Institute (RI-MUHC), Montreal, QC, Canada.
  23. Dallas Seitz: Department of Psychiatry, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
  24. Sanjeev Kumar: Center for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada.
  25. Vasavan Nair: Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada.
  26. Marc Miresco: Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada.
  27. Marie-Andrée Bruneau: Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada.
  28. George Alexopoulos: Department of Psychiatry, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY, United States.
  29. Karl Looper: Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
  30. Ipsit Vahia: Department of Psychiatry and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.
  31. Soham Rej: McGill Meditation and Mind-Body Medicine Research Clinic and GeriPARTy Research Group, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada.
  32. Syeda Nayab Bukhari: McGill Meditation and Mind-Body Medicine Research Clinic and GeriPARTy Research Group, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada.
PMID: 33343425 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.598356

Abstract

Social-distancing due to COVID-19 has led to social isolation, stress, and mental health issues in older adults, while overwhelming healthcare systems worldwide. Telehealth involving phone calls by trained volunteers is understudied and may be a low-cost, scalable, and valuable preventive tool for mental health. In this context, from patient participatory volunteer initiatives, we have adapted and developed an innovative volunteer-based telehealth intervention program for older adults (TIP-OA). To evaluate TIP-OA, we are conducting a mixed-methods longitudinal observational study. TIP-OA clients are older adults (age ≥ 60) recruited in Montreal, Quebec. TIP-OA volunteers make weekly friendly phone calls to seniors to check in, form connections, provide information about COVID-19, and connect clients to community resources as needed. Perceived stress, fear surrounding COVID-19, depression, and anxiety will be assessed at baseline, and at 4- and 8-weeks. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups will be conducted to assess the experiences of clients, volunteers, and stakeholders. As of October 15th, 2020, 150 volunteers have been trained to provide TIP-OA to 305 older clients. We will consecutively select 200 clients receiving TIP-OA for quantitative data collection, plus 16 volunteers and 8 clinicians for focus groups, and 15 volunteers, 10 stakeholders, and 25 clients for semi-structured interviews. During COVID-19, healthcare professionals' decreased availability and increased needs related to geriatric mental health are expected. If successful and scalable, volunteer-based TIP-OA may help prevent and improve mental health concerns, improve community participation, and decrease healthcare utilization. : ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04523610; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04523610?term=NCT04523610&draw=2&rank=1.

Keywords

COVID-19 anxiety depression geriatrics older adults telehealth

Associated Data

ClinicalTrials.gov | NCT04523610

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Journal Article
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