@article{ref1,
title="Virtual fall program assessment for frail Canadian community-dwelling older adults: Examining equitable accessibility",
journal="Digital health",
year="2023",
author="Weiss, Sophie M. and Castelo, Matthew and Liu, Barbara and Norris, Mireille",
volume="9",
number="",
pages="e20552076231178410-e20552076231178410",
abstract="OBJECTIVE: In response to COVID-19, the fall prevention program (FPP) at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre was modified to be delivered virtually. We compared patient populations assessed for the FPP virtually versus in-person to explore equitable accessibility. <br><br>METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed. All patients assessed virtually from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic until the end of abstraction (April 25, 2022) were compared to a historic sample of patients assessed in-person beginning in January 2019. Demographics, measures of frailty, co-morbidity, and cognition were abstracted. Wilcoxon Rank Sum tests and Fisher's Exact tests were used for continuous and categorical variables, respectively. <br><br>RESULTS: Thirty patients were assessed virtually and compared to 30 in-person historic controls. Median age was 80 years (interquartile range 75-85), 82% were female, 70% were university educated, the median Clinical Frailty Score was 5 out of 9, and 87% used >5 medications. Once normalized, frailty scores showed no difference (p  =  0.446). The virtual cohort showed significantly higher outdoor walking aid use (p  =  0.015), reduced accuracy with clock drawing (p  =  0.020), and nonsignificant trends toward using >10 medications, requiring assistance with >3 instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), and higher treatment attendance. No significant differences were seen for time-to-treat (p  =  0.423). <br><br>CONCLUSION: Patients assessed virtually were similarly frail as the in-person controls but had increased use of walking aids, medications, IADL assistance, and cognitive impairment. In a Canadian context, frail and high socioeconomic status older adults continued to access treatment through virtual FPP assessments during the COVID-19 pandemic highlighting both the benefits of virtual care and potential inequity.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="2055-2076",
doi="10.1177/20552076231178410",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/20552076231178410"
}