Older Adults Find Support Through Health Care Companions

The visitant chairs successful America's wellness attraction clinics are getting put to bully use, according to a caller canvass of older adults.

In nan past year, 38% of group property 50 and complete said different big attended astatine slightest 1 of their wellness attraction appointments, including 4% who said personification attended a telehealth assignment pinch them. And 34% person accompanied different personification complete 50 to astatine slightest 1 appointment, including 4% who attended different older adult's telehealth visit, according to caller findings from nan University of Michigan National Poll connected Healthy Aging.

The immense mostly of these older adults said that having personification astatine their wellness attraction assignment (referred to arsenic a "health attraction companion") was helpful. In all, 92% of those who had a wellness attraction companion astatine an assignment said it was helpful. So did 99% of those who had acted arsenic wellness attraction companion to personification else.

Health attraction companions helped inquire questions of nan expert aliases different wellness attraction provider, and helped patients understand and travel up connected nan proposal they received. Additional assistance included helping pinch transportation, providing affectional support, and gathering mobility needs.

The canvass finds that 92% of each adults property 50 and complete had astatine slightest 1 wellness attraction assignment successful nan past year. That suggests ample opportunity for much support from others during appointments, if older adults and wellness attraction providers understand nan imaginable benefits.

The canvass is based astatine nan U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, and supported by Michigan Medicine, U-M's world aesculapian center. The canvass squad besides did a Michigan-focused study of canvass data, pinch support from nan Michigan Health Endowment Fund. Those findings are astatine https://michmed.org/Q9veZ.

As a superior attraction physician, my privilege is to guarantee that my patients and I usage our clip together well, and that they time off pinch nan accusation and adjacent steps they request to understand and negociate their wellness conditions. So, if they want to person different personification who tin support them successful nan room aliases arsenic portion of a telehealth visit, I invited it."

Jeffrey Kullgren, M.D., M.P.H., M.S., Poll director

Kullgren, who practices astatine nan VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System and is an subordinate professor of soul medicine astatine nan U-M Medical School, adds, "When nan wellness attraction companion is nan patient's caregiver because of cognitive issues aliases analyzable aesculapian conditions, this support tin beryllium perfectly vital."

But, he notes, nan canvass shows that 62% of older adults haven't opted to bring personification pinch them to an assignment successful personification aliases virtually successful nan past year.

The canvass asked these older adults why they did not person a wellness attraction companion astatine immoderate of their appointments and allowed them to take aggregate reasons. In all, 80% felt they didn't request help, and 20% preferred to spell alone. But 11% said they didn't want to beryllium a burden, and 6% said they had nary 1 disposable to spell pinch them.

The results, Kullgren says, propose that wellness attraction clinics and systems could do much to induce patients to bring wellness attraction companions to in-person and telehealth appointments, and to optimize their attraction environments and integer devices truthful that companions tin enactment arsenic partners successful nan patient's care. Health attraction systems could besides connection options to patients who do not person personification to travel them, but want personification successful nan assignment pinch them, specified arsenic diligent advocates and navigators.

Benefits of wellness attraction companions

Among those who brought a wellness attraction companion to an in-person aliases telehealth appointment, 83% said it made them comfortable sharing their wellness information, and 79% said it helped them travel done connected nan instructions their wellness attraction supplier gave them. In all, 76% said it had a affirmative effect connected nan value of attraction they received.

Those who had acted arsenic a wellness attraction companion for different older big were moreover much apt to consciousness their beingness had made a difference, pinch 92% agreeing that it helped nan personification travel done connected instructions and 89% agreeing that it positively impacted nan value of attraction nan personification received.

These findings propose an untapped assets for helping amended really patients interact pinch nan wellness attraction system, particularly those pinch analyzable wellness needs."

Jeffrey Kullgren, M.D., M.P.H., M.S.

Who's bringing, aliases acting as, wellness attraction companions?

The astir communal wellness attraction companions were spouses aliases partners, cited by 71% of group who reported bringing personification to an assignment and 58% of those who went to personification else's appointment.

Adult children came second, pinch 20% of older adults who had brought personification to an assignment saying it was their big child, and 28% of older adults who had gone to an assignment pinch different older big saying they had accompanied their parent. Other relatives and friends besides occasionally served arsenic wellness attraction companions.

Women were little apt than men to person had personification travel them to astatine slightest 1 appointment. In all, 35% of women complete 50 had done so, compared pinch 42% of men. But women were much apt to person acted arsenic a wellness attraction companion to different big complete 50, pinch 38% saying they'd done so, compared pinch 30% of men.

People complete 50 pinch self-reported adjacent aliases mediocre beingness health, and those pinch a disablement that limits regular activities, were much apt to person had personification astatine their appointment. Those complete 65 were much apt than those aged 50 to 64 to person had a wellness attraction companion.

The canvass findings travel from a nationally typical study conducted by NORC astatine nan University of Chicago for IHPI and administered online and via telephone successful February 2025 among 2,883 adults ages 50 to 97 crossed nan U.S. The sample was subsequently weighted to bespeak nan U.S. population.