Health Management Occupations During COVID-19: Experiences of Older African Americans With Multimorbidity.
Heather Fritz, Ryan Jones, Malcolm P Cutchin
PMID 35068261WHAT IT FOUND
Older African Americans with multiple chronic conditions said pandemic closures and fear interrupted care, medication, exercise, and social routines.
OTs can target habits and community supports. Some participants also reported respite, home routines, and new connections.
Key findings
01Participants described missed or delayed care, therapy, and specialty services because clinics closed, capacity changed, or they feared infection.
02Loss of group exercise and routine, plus emotional stress, disrupted medication, physical activity, and nutrition for some participants.
03Many reduced social participation, but some modified activities or began new meaningful ones; a few also reported benefits such as caregiving respite.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The sample came from a single metropolitan area, Detroit, during a prolonged pandemic shutdown, so experiences may differ in places with fewer restrictions. The study described experiences and did not measure health outcomes, so it cannot show that pandemic changes caused worse disease control. The interview prompt about COVID-19 was added after the first three participants raised it, so the data were not collected from a sample selected for that topic.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The work was funded by the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these narratives as proof that pandemic closures caused worse chronic disease outcomes. The study described experiences and did not measure clinical outcomes or compare groups.