Telemedicine in the care of older people in primary care: a systematic mixed studies review

The COVID-19 pandemic has substantially changed the delivery of primary care health services. Most primary care doctors had to adapt to virtual remote care without training. Telemedicine has the potential to improve the quality of primary health care and increase accessibility to the population, however it presents a challenge to older people (e.g. hearing and visual impairment, cognitive impairment, access to the Internet, telephone and video devices). Our research will therefore focus on describing the effects of telemedicine on the quality of primary care for older people compared to in-person care. Our objectives are to identify the different types of telemedicine, describe the various barriers and facilitators to the use of telemedicine by older people and health professionals, and provide our recommendations. We will conduct a mixed systematic review to describe the experience of older people living in the community when using telemedicine in primary care. Our mixed-method approach will combine qualitative data and research techniques (descriptive), quantitative methods (including effect size calculations) and an explanatory approach to mixed methods. A narrative approach (content synthesis and thematic synthesis) will be applied to describe the types of telemedicine, identify barriers and facilitators and draft recommendations on the use of telemedicine by elderly people and health professionals in primary care. Our review will be particularly needed in this period of pandemic during which telemedicine is widely used.