Oxford Department of International Development, University of Oxford , Oxford, UK.
School of Pharmacy, Central University , Accra, Ghana.
J Gerontol Soc Work. 2020 Aug-Oct;63(6-7):717-723. doi: 10.1080/01634372.2020.1800883. Epub 2020 Aug 18.
Older people have been identified to be one of the most vulnerable population groups to the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19). At the same time, more health workers in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) including Ghana are contracting COVID-19. This poses healthcare utilization concerns for older adults. As a result, many older adults are changing their health-seeking behavior by staying at home and resorting to informal healthcare such as the use of traditional therapies and over-the-counter medicines for self-treatment or to boost their immune system. This commentary calls for social workers to collaborate with health authorities and community pharmacists to develop social and health programs to increase older adults' access to healthcare during the COVID-19 crisis. Policies are also required to deal with the pandemic and its impact on health systems in LMICs for both short and long term. We have suggested in this commentary how governments, health institutions, and local authorities in LMICs can address the healthcare concerns of older adults during this and any future pandemic.
老年人被认为是 2019 年新型冠状病毒（COVID-19）最易受感染的人群之一。与此同时，加纳等中低收入国家（LMICs）有更多的卫生工作者感染了 COVID-19。这给老年人的医疗利用带来了担忧。因此，许多老年人通过呆在家里和求助于非正规医疗保健来改变他们的寻医行为，例如使用传统疗法和非处方药物进行自我治疗或增强免疫系统。本评论呼吁社会工作者与卫生当局和社区药剂师合作，制定社会和卫生计划，以增加老年人在 COVID-19 危机期间获得医疗保健的机会。还需要制定政策来应对这一流行病及其对中低收入国家卫生系统的短期和长期影响。在本评论中，我们提出了中低收入国家的政府、卫生机构和地方当局如何在这一次和任何未来的大流行期间解决老年人的医疗保健问题。
