Investigación Gerontológica y Geriatría

Abstracto

Impact of COVID-19 on Accessibility to Elective Dental Care among Older Persons-A Qualitative Study

Ramya Shenoy*, Boothapaty Faith Ratna Jason, Mridula Jain, Vaibhav Pravin Thakkar, Tarakant Bhagat

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant devastating effect on the overall health of the communities. Unfortunately, the older individuals were more adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic due to the higher mortality rate and comorbidities. This is a qualitative study with a Qualitative Description (QD) approach. In this study we have described and interpreted older adult’s perceptions regarding elective dental care. The interview was conducted with older adults who could understand and speak English and had a smartphone. The study comprised 6 older adults with a mean age of 73. It was seen in this study that, those that had personal vehicles, family dentists, and good retirement plans had no issues in locating the dentist and receiving dental treatment. They were not worried about being exposed to COVID-19 and they expressed that they felt safe, comfortable and reassured being treated by their family dentist. None of the study participants were affected by the PPE worn by the dentist. This study was conducted after the second wave of COVID-19 had settled and people were vaccinated, so there may be some kind of recall bias in the responses gathered from the participants.