Impact of COVID-19 on hospital visit behaviour in cancer patients in Japan: a nationwide study.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Lockdowns and outing restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic may have altered attitudes towards hospital visits. This study aimed to investigate changes in long-distance visits outside of secondary healthcare service areas (SHSA) among cancer patients in Japan.

Design

Retrospective observational study.

Setting

Inpatient data from the Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination database.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

We retrospectively analysed inpatient data from January 2018 to December 2021, extracted from the Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination database. The study examined whether the patient's hospital was within their residence's SHSA and compared the admission rates before and after the pandemic.

Results

The data of a total

SUBMITTER: Seishima R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11683943 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature