The infodemic could lead older people to avoid seeking healthcare services and therefore to uncontrolled blood pressure.Ĭonsidering that non-adherence to hypertensive medication was a serious problem among older people even in pre-pandemic times, it makes sense that the pandemic could have exacerbated these issues. It is well-reported that regular check-ups, regular use of medication, and lifestyle are essential for managing blood pressure. The accompanying infodemic caused additional anxiety in hypertensive patients, resulting in a persistent negative impact on adherence to medication and treatment. This practice had especially detrimental effects on those older individuals with hypertension due to isolation at home, physical inactivity, fear of receiving healthcare services, and lack of access to medication. On March 21, 2020, Turkey instated a curfew for people 65 and older to keep the mortality rates, low limiting the time they were allowed to leave their residences. In Turkey, the perception that older people, who are in the high-risk group, were somehow “more dangerous” became spread, which spurred an increase in the fear and anxiety around the pandemic. The infodemic and the spread of misleading and inaccurate information have had the greatest negative impact on people 65 and older, who are more likely to have chronic illnesses and have a greater COVID-19 mortality rate. Spreading faster than the actual virus, this misinformation adversely affected people’s knowledge about COVID-19 fear-inducing misinformation spread much more rapidly than accurate information. A great deal of inaccurate information related to the pandemic spread through social media. The COVID-19 pandemic also gave rise to what is now called an “Infodemic”, or “an outbreak of misinformation”, on a global scale. The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Geriatric monitoring for antihypertensive medication adoption and blood pressure is crucial for older people with hard-to-control hypertension. The blood pressure control rate in Turkey and the world is around 25%. One of the most important elements of hypertension management and control is medication adoption. This rate increases with age, reaching 75% for those 65 and older. Its prevalence in Turkey is reported as 31.8%. Hypertension is a major public health issue with a global incidence rate of 40.8% and 32.3% control rate. As the pandemic continues, older people with hypertension need support in terms of monitoring blood pressure and medication adherence as well as increased awareness about the pandemic. Moreover, a low-level positive correlation was found between medication adherence and the level of fear of COVID-19. The infodemic was found to increase concern levels, and those with high fear scores had abnormal/uncontrolled levels of blood pressure. One out of every five had abnormal/uncontrolled blood pressure during the pandemic. It was found that, rather than avoiding hospitals during a pandemic, one out of two older people had had their blood pressure checked.
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The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 23 software via independent sample t test, one-way variance analysis, χ 2 analysis, and the Pearson correlation coefficient. Data were collected from 419 older individuals using a sociodemographic information form, an infodemic-related questionnaire, Fear of COVID-19 Scale, and Medication Adherence Self-Efficacy Scale via Google Forms. In this descriptive, correlational study, mean medication adherence was taken as 45.6 ± 6.06% based on the literature, with a 5% margin of error, and the sample size was determined as 292 with 95% confidence interval and 80% power. The study was conducted to identify the impact of the pandemic on hypertensive older people’s COVID-19 fear, blood pressure control, and medication adherence.