Factors Associated with the Patient's Decision to Avoid Healthcare during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

ABSTRACT: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in changes in healthcare use. This study aimed to identify factors associated with a patient's decision to avoid and/or delay healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic. We used data from a community-based survey in Portugal from July 2020 to August 2021, "COVID-19 Barometer: Social Opinion", which included data regarding health services use, risk perception and confidence in health services. We framed our analysis under Andersen's Behavioural Model of Health Services Use and utilised Poisson regression to identify healthcare avoidance associated factors. Healthcare avoidance was high (44%). Higher prevalence of healthcare avoidance was found among women; participants who reported lower confidence in the healthcare system response to COVID-19 and non-COVID-1

SUBMITTER: Soares P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8701299 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature