Frontiers in Psychiatry (Dec 2020)
Connecting During COVID-19: A Protocol of a Volunteer-Based Telehealth Program for Supporting Older Adults' Health
- Elena Dikaios,
- Harmehr Sekhon,
- Harmehr Sekhon,
- Alexandre Allard,
- Blanca Vacaflor,
- Allana Goodman,
- Emmett Dwyer,
- Emmett Dwyer,
- Paola Lavin-Gonzalez,
- Paola Lavin-Gonzalez,
- Paola Lavin-Gonzalez,
- Artin Mahdanian,
- Haley Park,
- 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,
- Emily McDonald,
- Dallas Seitz,
- Sanjeev Kumar,
- Sanjeev Kumar,
- Vasavan Nair,
- Marc Miresco,
- Marie-Andrée Bruneau,
- Marie-Andrée Bruneau,
- George Alexopoulos,
- Karl Looper,
- Karl Looper,
- Ipsit Vahia,
- Soham Rej,
- Soham Rej,
- Syeda Nayab Bukhari,
- Syeda Nayab Bukhari
Affiliations
- Elena Dikaios
- McGill Meditation and Mind-Body Medicine Research Clinic and GeriPARTy Research Group, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Harmehr Sekhon
- McGill Meditation and Mind-Body Medicine Research Clinic and GeriPARTy Research Group, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Harmehr Sekhon
- Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Alexandre Allard
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Blanca Vacaflor
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Allana Goodman
- Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Emmett Dwyer
- Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Emmett Dwyer
- School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Paola Lavin-Gonzalez
- McGill Meditation and Mind-Body Medicine Research Clinic and GeriPARTy Research Group, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Paola Lavin-Gonzalez
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Paola Lavin-Gonzalez
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Artin Mahdanian
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Haley Park
- McGill Meditation and Mind-Body Medicine Research Clinic and GeriPARTy Research Group, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Haley Park
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Chesley Walsh
- Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Neeti Sasi
- McGill Meditation and Mind-Body Medicine Research Clinic and GeriPARTy Research Group, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Rim Nazar
- McGill Meditation and Mind-Body Medicine Research Clinic and GeriPARTy Research Group, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Johanna Gruber
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Chien-Lin Su
- Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Cezara Hanganu
- Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Isabelle Royal
- Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Alessandra Schiavetto
- Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Karin Cinalioglu
- McGill Meditation and Mind-Body Medicine Research Clinic and GeriPARTy Research Group, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Christina Rigas
- McGill Meditation and Mind-Body Medicine Research Clinic and GeriPARTy Research Group, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Cyrille Launay
- Division of Geriatric Medicine, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Olivier Beauchet
- Division of Geriatric Medicine, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Emily McDonald
- McGill University Health Center Research Institute (RI-MUHC), Montreal, QC, Canada
- Emily McDonald
- 0Division of General Internal Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Dallas Seitz
- 1Department of Psychiatry, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
- Sanjeev Kumar
- 2Center for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Sanjeev Kumar
- 3Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Vasavan Nair
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Marc Miresco
- Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Marie-Andrée Bruneau
- 4Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Marie-Andrée Bruneau
- 5Department of Psychiatry, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
- George Alexopoulos
- 6Department of Psychiatry, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY, United States
- Karl Looper
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Karl Looper
- Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Ipsit Vahia
- 7Department of Psychiatry and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Soham Rej
- McGill Meditation and Mind-Body Medicine Research Clinic and GeriPARTy Research Group, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Soham Rej
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Syeda Nayab Bukhari
- McGill Meditation and Mind-Body Medicine Research Clinic and GeriPARTy Research Group, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Syeda Nayab Bukhari
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.598356
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 11
Abstract
Introduction: 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).Methods and analysis: To evaluate TIP-OA, we are conducting a mixed-methods longitudinal observational study.Participants: TIP-OA clients are older adults (age ≥ 60) recruited in Montreal, Quebec.Intervention: 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.Measurements: 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.Results: 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.Discussion: 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.Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04523610; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04523610?term=NCT04523610&draw=2&rank=1
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