Experiences and Beliefs of Low‐Income Patients With Hypertension in Louisiana and Mississippi During the COVID‐19 Pandemic

Journal of the American Heart Association: Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Disease

卷:10

Angelique Greer¹  Sonja R. Fuqua²  Jing Chen³  Marie Krousel‐Wood³  Katherine T. Mills³  Paul K. Whelton³  Jiang He³  Amanda Zimmerman³  Hua He³  Erin Peacock⁴  Lea Gray‐Winfrey⁵  Shondra Williams⁶  Gerrelda Davis⁷  Keith L. Winfrey⁸  Darie S. Gilliam⁹  Alecia Cyprian¹⁰  Gary M. Wiltz¹¹ 

[1] Coastal Family Health Center Biloxi MS;

[2] Community Health Center Association of Mississippi Jackson MS;

[3] Department of Epidemiology Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine New Orleans LA;

[4] Department of Medicine Tulane University School of Medicine New Orleans LA;

[5] EXCELth, Inc. New Orleans LA;

[6] InclusivCare Avondale LA;

[7] Louisiana Primary Care Association Baton Rouge LA;

[8] NOELA Community Health Center New Orleans LA;

[9] RKM Primary Care Clinton LA;

[10] Southeast Community Health Systems Greensburg LA;

[11] Teche Action Board, Inc. Franklin LA;

关键词: access to care;    COVID‐19;    health disparities;    hypertension;    telemedicine;   

DOI  :  10.1161/JAHA.120.018510

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic disproportionately affects individuals with hypertension and health disparities. Methods and Results We assessed the experiences and beliefs of low‐income and minority patients with hypertension during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Participants (N=587) from the IMPACTS‐BP (Implementation of Multifaceted Patient‐Centered Treatment Strategies for Intensive Blood Pressure Control) study completed a telephone survey in May and June of 2020. Participants were 65.1% Black and 59.7% female, and 57.7% reported an income below the federal poverty level. Overall, 2.7% tested positive and 15.3% had lost a family member or friend to COVID‐19. These experiences were significantly more common in Black (3.9% and 19.4%, respectively) than in non‐Black participants (0.5% and 7.8%, respectively). In addition, 14.5% lost a job and 15.9% reported food shortages during the pandemic. Most participants complied with stay‐at‐home orders (98.3%), social distancing (97.8%), and always wearing a mask outside their home (74.6%). Participants also reported high access to needed health care (94.7%) and prescription medications (97.6%). Furthermore, 95.7% of respondents reported that they continued to take their regular dosage of antihypertensive medications. Among the 44.5% of participants receiving a healthcare appointment by telehealth, 96.6% got the help they needed, and 80.8% reported that the appointment quality was as good as or better than in‐person visits. Finally, 88.9% were willing to return to their primary care clinic. Conclusions These data suggest that low‐income patients, especially Black patients, were negatively impacted by COVID‐19. However, most patients were able to access needed healthcare services and were willing to return to their primary care clinic for hypertension management. Registration URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT03483662.

【 授权许可】

Unknown