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. 2021 Dec 14:8:23743735211065264.
doi: 10.1177/23743735211065264. eCollection 2021.

Unaccompanied Clinic Visits: Practical Consequences of a Stressor Imposed by the COVID-19 Pandemic

Paris G Tranos  1 , Penelope B de Politis  1 , Despoina Vasileiou  1 , Miltiadis Balidis  1 , Evangelos Lokovitis  1 , Solon Asteriades  1 , Vasilis Vasileiades  1 , Panos Stavrakas  2 , Spyridon Koronis  1
Affiliations

Unaccompanied Clinic Visits: Practical Consequences of a Stressor Imposed by the COVID-19 Pandemic

Paris G Tranos et al. J Patient Exp. .

Abstract

One of the restrictive measures of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic control is the prohibition of accompanied clinic visits. The specific features of ophthalmological patients imply different degrees of dependency that directly affect their response to such measures. This study aims to assess the effects of unaccompanied medical appointments on outpatients' stress levels and their retention of medical advice. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted at a large ophthalmic clinic in northern Greece during September 2020. Suitable subjects were asked to self-administer a 7-item questionnaire addressing their subjective perception of stress and their ability to fully understand and remember their doctor's instructions, given the fact that they would be alone during the consultation. The analysis was based on 200 patients who completed the survey. Sixty-three patients (31.5%) reported that unaccompanied clinic visits increased their stress, with a median value of 7.5 (mean 6.77 ± .2.7) on a scale from 1 to 10. A large number of the patients (30%) claimed it was difficult to remember the doctor's comments or instructions, and 24.6% indicated that they would not fully understand them if they were to attend the clinic unaccompanied. A marked impact on women and on the elderly (up to threefold) over 70 years of age was identified. This is the first study specifically addressing practical repercussions of unaccompanied clinic visits during the COVID-19 pandemic. A negative effect on patients' emotional status and on counseling effectiveness was demonstrated. Female gender and advanced age were found to be determinants of the highest vulnerability.

Keywords: COVID-19; clinic visits; impact; ophthalmology; psychological distress; stress.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Results of the 7-item questionnaire.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Stress response to unaccompanied visit by gender.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Stress response to unaccompanied visit by age groups.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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