Table 1 Demographic characteristics of randomly selected participants included in the qualitative analysis, stratified by pandemic period
| Â | Before COVID-19 (N=339) | During COVID-19 (N=351) | Overall (N=690) |
|---|---|---|---|
Hospital | |||
 Hôtel-Dieu de Lévis | 103 (30.4%) | 127 (36.2%) | 230 (33.3%) |
 Hôpital de Montmagny | 91 (26.8%) | 89 (25.4%) | 180 (26.1%) |
 Hôpital de Saint-Georges | 80 (23.6%) | 70 (19.9%) | 150 (21.7%) |
 Hôpital de Thetford-Mines | 65 (19.2%) | 65 (18.5%) | 130 (18.8%) |
Age | |||
 Mean (SD) | 76.3 (7.48) | 75.2 (6.88) | 75.7 (7.20) |
Sex | |||
 Men | 177 (52.2%) | 162 (46.2%) | 339 (49.1%) |
 Women | 162 (47.8%) | 189 (53.8%) | 351 (50.9%) |
Charlson Comorbidity Index score | |||
 Mean (SD) | 5.08 (2.20) | 4.68 (2.04) | 4.88 (2.13) |
First language | |||
 French | 339 (100%) | 349 (99.4%) | 688 (99.7%) |
 English | 0 (0%) | 2 (0.6%) | 2 (0.3%) |
Ethnicity | |||
 Caucasian | 339 (100%) | 350 (99.7%) | 689 (99.9%) |
 Missing | 0 (0%) | 1 (0.3%) | 1 (0.1%) |
Annual income, CAD | |||
 < 10 000$ | 15 (4.4%) | 1 (0.3%) | 16 (2.3%) |
 10 000 - 19 999$ | 62 (18.3%) | 41 (11.7%) | 103 (14.9%) |
 20 000 - 29 999$ | 57 (16.8%) | 63 (17.9%) | 120 (17.4%) |
 30 000 - 39 999$ | 37 (10.9%) | 53 (15.1%) | 90 (13.0%) |
 40 000 - 49 999$ | 23 (6.8%) | 39 (11.1%) | 62 (9.0%) |
 50 000 - 59 999$ | 20 (5.9%) | 14 (4.0%) | 34 (4.9%) |
 60 000 - 69 999$ | 5 (1.5%) | 11 (3.1%) | 16 (2.3%) |
 70 000 - 79 999$ | 2 (0.6%) | 7 (2.0%) | 9 (1.3%) |
 80 000 - 89 999$ | 1 (0.3%) | 6 (1.7%) | 7 (1.0%) |
 90 000 - 99 999$ | 1 (0.3%) | 7 (2.0%) | 8 (1.2%) |
 > 100 000$ | 7 (2.1%) | 8 (2.3%) | 15 (2.2%) |
 Preferred not to respond | 107 (31.6%) | 78 (22.2%) | 185 (26.8%) |
 Missing | 2 (0.6%) | 23 (6.6%) | 25 (3.6%) |
Highest level of education | |||
 Primary school | 138 (40.7%) | 175 (49.9%) | 313 (45.4%) |
 Secondary school | 96 (28.3%) | 82 (23.4%) | 178 (25.8%) |
 Trade or professional school | 28 (8.3%) | 24 (6.8%) | 52 (7.5%) |
 College degree | 35 (10.3%) | 40 (11.4%) | 75 (10.9%) |
 Bachelor's degree | 30 (8.8%) | 21 (6.0%) | 51 (7.4%) |
 Graduate degree | 11 (3.2%) | 9 (2.6%) | 20 (2.9%) |
 Missing | 1 (0.3%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (0.1%) |
Living situation | |||
 Home | 191 (56.3%) | 203 (57.8%) | 394 (57.1%) |
 Home, alone | 97 (28.6%) | 101 (28.8%) | 198 (28.7%) |
 Nursing home, 24h access to nurse | 27 (8.0%) | 27 (7.7%) | 54 (7.8%) |
 Nursing home, no nurse on site | 14 (4.1%) | 13 (3.7%) | 27 (3.9%) |
 Affordable housing | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) |
 Family Type Ressources (FTR) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) |
 Long term care residence | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) |
 Other | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) |
 Missing | 10 (2.9%) | 7 (2.0%) | 17 (2.5%) |
Size of social network (persons) | |||
 Mean (SD) | 3.42 (3.96) | 4.14 (3.48) | 3.79 (3.74) |
Have a family physician | |||
 Yes | 316 (93.2%) | 316 (90.0%) | 632 (91.6%) |
 No | 23 (6.8%) | 35 (10.0%) | 58 (8.4%) |
Able to quickly see their family physician | |||
 Yes | 198 (58.4%) | 159 (45.3%) | 357 (51.7%) |
 No | 113 (33.3%) | 145 (41.3%) | 258 (37.4%) |
 Unsure | 12 (3.5%) | 12 (3.4%) | 24 (3.5%) |
 Missing | 16 (4.7%) | 35 (10.0%) | 51 (7.4%) |
Have access to transport | |||
 Yes | 313 (92.3%) | 336 (95.7%) | 649 (94.1%) |
 No | 26 (7.7%) | 15 (4.3%) | 41 (5.9%) |
Have a caregiver (self-report) | |||
 No | 207 (61.1%) | 236 (67.2%) | 443 (64.2%) |
 Yes | 132 (38.9%) | 115 (32.8%) | 247 (35.8%) |
Care Transitions Measure – 3 | |||
The hospital staff took my preferences and those of my family or caregiver into account in deciding what my health care needs would be when I left the hospital | |||
 Strongly agree | 129 (38.1%) | 183 (52.1%) | 312 (45.2%) |
 Agree | 108 (31.9%) | 123 (35.0%) | 231 (33.5%) |
 Disagree | 17 (5.0%) | 17 (4.8%) | 34 (4.9%) |
 Strongly disagree | 6 (1.8%) | 7 (2.0%) | 13 (1.9%) |
 Missing | 79 (23.3%) | 21 (6.0%) | 100 (14.5%) |
When I left the hospital, I had a good understanding of the things I was responsible for in managing my health | |||
 Strongly agree | 167 (49.3%) | 164 (46.7%) | 331 (48.0%) |
 Agree | 126 (37.2%) | 121 (34.5%) | 247 (35.8%) |
 Disagree | 28 (8.3%) | 42 (12.0%) | 70 (10.1%) |
 Strongly disagree | 7 (2.1%) | 7 (2.0%) | 14 (2.0%) |
 Missing | 11 (3.2%) | 17 (4.8%) | 28 (4.1%) |
When I left the hospital, I clearly understood the purpose for taking each of my medications | |||
 Strongly agree | 164 (48.4%) | 196 (55.8%) | 360 (52.2%) |
 Agree | 92 (27.1%) | 96 (27.4%) | 188 (27.2%) |
 Disagree | 21 (6.2%) | 22 (6.3%) | 43 (6.2%) |
 Strongly disagree | 6 (1.8%) | 2 (0.6%) | 8 (1.2%) |
 Missing | 56 (16.5%) | 35 (10.0%) | 91 (13.2%) |
Transformed (linear) Care Transition Measure - 3Â Score | |||
 Mean (SD) | 84.8 (15.3) | 85.9 (25.2) | 85.4 (15.2) |