Study Details Disparities in When and How Older Adults Use At-Home Tests

A new study based on data from the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging has shed light on older adults’ experiences with and views about many types of at-home tests.

In general, “48% of older adults had bought at least one of these tests in the past not counting free COVID-19 tests and other free tests,” and “91% of those who had bought a test said they’d do it again in future.” Even among older adults who hadn’t yet tried at-home testing, “75% said they’d likely try one in the future, and 71% said they saw such tests as more convenient, though much lower percentages said they were trustworthy or a good value.”

There were some disparities between the groups of people polled. Older adults “who have a college degree or higher, or a household income over $100,000, were much more likely to have bought at least one at-home medical test than those in other education and income brackets, at 56% and 61%, respectively.” 36% of Black older adults said they had bought at-home medical tests, compared with “46% to 53% of older adults who are white non-Hispanic, Hispanic, or members of other racial or ethnic groups.”

In addition, “while more than 90% of all older adults feel people should share their at-home test results with their clinical care team, the percentage who actually did so varied widely.” 91% of those who screened for cancer reported telling their primary health care provider, compared with “55% of those who took an at-home test for an infection other than COVID-19 did, and only 9% of those who ordered an at-home DNA test told their provider about the results.”