Problems of Data Availability and Quality for COVID-19 and Older People in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Peter  Lloyd-Sherlock; Lucas  Sempe; Martin McKee; Aravinda Guntupalli

doi:10.1093/geront/gnaa153

Problems of Data Availability and Quality for COVID-19 and Older People in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Peter Lloyd-Sherlock^* (Corresponding Author), Lucas Sempe, Martin McKee, Aravinda Guntupalli

^*Corresponding author for this work

Applied Health Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

28 Citations (Scopus)

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Abstract

For all health conditions, reliable age-disaggregated data are vital for both epidemiological analysis and monitoring the relative prioritization of different age groups in policy responses. This is especially essential in the case of Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19), given the strong association between age and case fatality. This paper assesses the availability and quality of age-based data on reported COVID-19 cases and deaths for low and middle-income countries. It finds that the availability of reliable data which permit specific analyses of older people is largely absent. The paper explores the potential of excess mortality estimates as an alternative metric of the pandemic’s effects on older populations. Notwithstanding some technical challenges, this may offer a better approach, especially in countries where cause of death data is unreliable.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	141–144
Number of pages	4
Journal	The Gerontologist
Volume	61
Issue number	2
Early online date	6 Oct 2020
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnaa153
Publication status	Published - 1 Mar 2021

Bibliographical note

We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of other researchers in identifying relevant data on older people and COVID-19. They are Liat Ayalon, Joseph Batac, Leon Geffen, Syed Moeez, Susan Nungo, Yelda Özen, and Walaa Talaat.

Keywords

COVID-19
Low- and middle-income countries
data
ageism
Ageism
Data
SARS-CoV-2
Humans
Income
Aged, 80 and over
Aged
Developing Countries

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Sherlock_etal_Gerontol_Problems_of_data_AAM
This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in [insert journal title] following peer review. The version of record Peter Lloyd-Sherlock, PhD, Lucas Sempe, MSc, Martin McKee, DSc, Aravinda Guntupalli, PhD, Problems of Data Availability and Quality for COVID-19 and Older People in Low- and Middle-Income Countries, The Gerontologist, Volume 61, Issue 2, March 2021, Pages 141–144 is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnaa153
Accepted author manuscript, 388 KBLicence: Unspecified

Cite this

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Problems of Data Availability and Quality for COVID-19 and Older People in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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