“I was afraid to go to the hospital”: A qualitative analysis and ethical implications of the impacts of COVID-19 on the health and medical care of older adults in Ethiopia

Abstract

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought severe health consequences among older adults and posed ethical challenges. The aim of this study was to explore the impacts of COVID-19 on the health and medical care of older adults in Ethiopia and associated ethical implications, regardless of older adults’ COVID-19 infection status. Methods: In this qualitative study, we followed an inductive exploratory approach based on reflexive thematic analysis. We conducted semistructured interviews between March 2021 and November 2021 with 20 older adults and 26 health professionals who were selected from healthcare facilities and communities in Ethiopia using purposive and snowball sampling techniques. We audio-recorded, transcribed, translated, and inductively analyzed the interviews using thematic analysis. Results: Participants reported that the pandemic compromised the accessibility and quality of both COVID and non-COVID healthcare services for older adults, which negatively impacted older adults’ health conditions and medical care. Moreover, participants elaborated on the health conditions and care of older patients with COVID-19 and highlighted that older COVID-19 patients often have severe health conditions, do not get adequate COVID-19 care, and may receive lower priority for admission to intensive care units compared to younger patients when resources are limited. Conclusions: Results of this study showed that practices of COVID-19 care and measures may have led to adverse consequences such as limited availability and access to aged care in Ethiopia, which could have further health consequences on older patients. Our results contribute to a better understanding of ethical issues such as distributive justice and prioritization arising in the healthcare of older patients in times of global pandemic. It is imperative for local and international health policymakers and ethicists to further analyze and address the challenges that compromise the accessibility and continuity of quality care for older persons during a public healthcare crisis.