The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the healthcare utilization in Korea: Analysis of a nationwide survey.
J Infect Public Health
; 15(8): 915-921, 2022 Aug.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1983481
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
COVID-19 has brought changes in daily life and increased the medical burden. This study aims to evaluate the delays in healthcare services and related factors in the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic.METHODS:
We took a nationally representative sample and conducted a mobile phone-based survey. The study was conducted anonymously. Of the 3377 subjects who consented to participate, a total of 2097 finished the survey. The primary outcome was respondents' experiences with delayed (1) health screenings, (2) non-urgent medical visits, (3) medical visits for chronic disease, and (4) emergency visits during the COVID-19 pandemic.RESULTS:
Of 2097 respondents, females, residents of the Seoul metropolitan area, those with private insurance, those without chronic diseases, smokers, and drinkers had higher risk of delays in health screening and non-urgent medical visits after adjustment. Among chronic disease patients, those who were over 60 years old (adjusted odds ratio 0.36, 95% CI 0.14-0.92) showed lower risk of delayed medical visit. Residents of the Seoul metropolitan area, those with private insurance, smokers, and drinkers were all associated with experiencing delayed health screening and non-urgent medical visits had higher risk of delays in chronic disease visits and emergent medical visits.CONCLUSIONS:
Delayed access to healthcare services is associated with poor outcomes and may cause different complications. Efforts are needed to prevent delays in medical use due to infectious diseases such as COVID-19. Considering the possibility of the emergence of infectious diseases, various countermeasures are needed to prevent delays in medical visit.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Journal:
J Infect Public Health
Journal subject:
Communicable Diseases
/
Public Health
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
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