Hearing healthcare utilisation among older adults with self-reported hearing loss during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

OBJECTIVE: To ascertain the prevalence, causes, and risk factors of hearing healthcare delays in older people with self-reported hearing loss in the United States. DESIGN: This cross-sectional study used data from the National Health and Ageing Trends Study (NHATS), a nationally representative survey of Medicare beneficiaries. A supplemental COVID-19 survey was mailed to the participants from June to October 2020. STUDY SAMPLE: By January 2021, 3257 participants had returned completed COVID-19 questionnaires, with the majority having been self-administered between July and August 2020. RESULTS: The participants in the study represented 32.7 million older adults in the US, with 29.1% reporting hearing loss. Among over 12.4 million older adults who put off needed or planned medical care, 19.6% of those with self-reported hearing loss and 24.5% of hearing aid or device users stated they delayed hearing appointments. Approximately 629,911 older adults with hearing devices were impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak for audiological services. The top three reasons were deciding to wait, service cancellation, and fear of going. Education and race/ethnicity were associated with delaying hearing healthcare. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted hearing healthcare utilisation among older adults with self-reported hearing loss in 2020, with both patient- and provider- initiated delays.

Changes to consultations and diagnosis of osteoarthritis in primary care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: General practitioners (GP) are often the first medical professionals to treat musculoskeletal complaints. Yet the impact of COVID-19 on primary care utilisation for musculoskeletal complaints is largely unknown. This study quantifies the impact of the pandemic on primary care utilisation for musculoskeletal complaints and specifically osteoarthritis (OA) in the Netherlands. DESIGN: We extracted data on GP consultations in 2015-2020 from 118,756 patients over 45 years of age and estimated reductions in consultations in 2020 as compared to 5-year average. Outcomes were GP consultations for: any musculoskeletal complaints, knee and hip OA, knee and hip complaints, and newly diagnosed knee and hip OA/complaints. RESULTS: The relative reductions in consultations ranged from 46.7% (95% confidence intervals (CI): 43.9-49.3%) (all musculoskeletal consultations) to 61.6% (95% CI: 44.7-73.3%) (hip complaints) at the peak of the first wave, and from 9.3% (95% CI: 5.7-12.7%) (all musculoskeletal consultations) to 26.6% (95% CI: 11.5-39.1%) (knee OA) at the peak of the second wave. The reductions for new diagnoses were 87.0% (95% CI: 71.5-94.1%) for knee OA/complaints, and 70.5% (95% CI: 37.7-86.0%) for hip OA/complaints at the peak of the first wave, and not statistically significant at the peak of the second wave. CONCLUSION: We observed 47% reduction in GP consultations for musculoskeletal disorders during the first wave and 9% during the second wave. For hip and knee OA/complaints, the reductions were over 50% during the first, and 10% during the second wave. This disruption may lead to accumulation of patients with severe OA symptoms and more requests for arthroplasty surgery.

Healthcare utilisation, physical activity and mental health during COVID-19 lockdown: an interrupted time-series analysis of older adults in England.

COVID-19 measures which reduce interpersonal contact may be effective in containing the transmission, but their impacts on peoples' well-being and daily lives overtime remain unclear. Older adults are more vulnerable to both the virus and social isolation. It is therefore imperative to understand how they were affected during this period. Major concerns arising from the pandemic cover the aspects of mental health, healthcare utilisation and individual behavioural changes. Complementing the existing before-and-after analyses, we explore the impacts of easing and re-introducing COVID-19 measures by using a time-series data in England. The data was collected between May and November 2020 from the monthly surveys of the Platform for Research Online to Investigate Genetics and Cognition in Aging (PROTECT). Chi-squared analysis and interrupted time-series analysis were conducted to examine impacts of easing and re-introducing COVID-19 measures. Overall, mental health improves overtime but at a decreasing rate. The use of telephone/video consultations with a doctor or health professional presented a decreasing trend during the pandemic, whilst that of in-person consultation was increasing overtime. We observed significant variations in the time trends of mental health measures, healthcare utilisation and physical activity following the ease but not the re-introduction of COVID-19 measures. Future research is required to understand if these asymmetric impacts were driven by adaption of the people or stringency of the measures. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10433-022-00741-y.

Patient experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study in Dutch primary care.

BACKGROUND: Changes in primary care provision during the COVID-19 pandemic could have affected patient experience of primary care both positively and negatively. AIM: To assess the experiences of patients in primary care during the COVID-19 pandemic. DESIGN & SETTING: A qualitative study of patients from regions with high and low COVID-19 prevalence in the Netherlands. METHOD: A qualitative study using a phenomenological framework was performed among purposively sampled patients. Individual semi-structured interviews were performed and transcribed. Data were thematically analysed by means of an inductive approach. RESULTS: Twenty-eight patients were interviewed (13 men and 15 women, aged 27-91 years). After thematic analysis, two main themes emerged: accessibility and continuity of primary care. Changes considered positive during the pandemic regarding accessibility and continuity of primary care included having a quieter practice, having more time for consultations, and the use of remote care for problems with low complexity. However, patients also experienced decreases in both care accessibility and continuity, such as feeling unwelcome, the GP postponing chronic care, seeing unfamiliar doctors, and care being segregated. CONCLUSION: Despite bringing several benefits, patients indicated that the changes to primary care provision during the COVID-19 pandemic could have threatened care accessibility and continuity, which are core values of primary care. These insights can guide primary care provision not only in this and future pandemics, but also when implementing permanent changes to care provision in primary care.

Detecting early signals of COVID-19 outbreaks in 2020 in small areas by monitoring healthcare utilisation databases: first lessons learned from the Italian Alert_CoV project.

BackgroundDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, large-scale diagnostic testing and contact tracing have proven insufficient to promptly monitor the spread of infections.AimTo develop and retrospectively evaluate a system identifying aberrations in the use of selected healthcare services to timely detect COVID-19 outbreaks in small areas.MethodsData were retrieved from the healthcare utilisation (HCU) databases of the Lombardy Region, Italy. We identified eight services suggesting a respiratory infection (syndromic proxies). Count time series reporting the weekly occurrence of each proxy from 2015 to 2020 were generated considering small administrative areas (i.e. census units of Cremona and Mantua provinces). The ability to uncover aberrations during 2020 was tested for two algorithms: the improved Farrington algorithm and the generalised likelihood ratio-based procedure for negative binomial counts. To evaluate these algorithms' performance in detecting outbreaks earlier than the standard surveillance, confirmed outbreaks, defined according to the weekly number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, were used as reference. Performances were assessed separately for the first and second semester of the year. Proxies positively impacting performance were identified.ResultsWe estimated that 70% of outbreaks could be detected early using the proposed approach, with a corresponding false positive rate of ca 20%. Performance did not substantially differ either between algorithms or semesters. The best proxies included emergency calls for respiratory or infectious disease causes and emergency room visits.ConclusionImplementing HCU-based monitoring systems in small areas deserves further investigations as it could facilitate the containment of COVID-19 and other unknown infectious diseases in the future.

Factors affecting delayed and non-receipt of healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic for women in rural Maharashtra, India: Evidence from a cross-sectional study.

Background: Pathways to low healthcare utilisation under the COVID-19 pandemic are not well understood. This study aims to understand women's concerns about the health system's priorities and their increased burden of domestic responsibilities during COVID-19 as predictors of delayed or non-receipt of needed care for themselves or their children. Methods: We surveyed married women in rural Maharashtra, India (N = 1021) on their health and economic concerns between Feb 1 and March 26, 2021. This study period was when India emerged from the first wave of the pandemic, which had severely impacted the health systems, and before the second-even more devastating wave had started. We captured if women were concerned about access to non-COVID health services due to healthcare being directed solely to COVID-19) (exposure 1) and whether their domestic responsibilities increased during the pandemic (exposure 2). Our outcomes included women's reports on whether they delayed healthcare seeking (secondary outcome and mediator) and whether they received healthcare for themselves or their children when needed (primary outcome). We conducted adjusted regression models on our predictor variables with each outcome and assessed the mediation effects of delayed healthcare seeking for each of the exposure variables. Findings: We found that women who were concerned that healthcare was directed solely towards COVID-19 were more likely not to receive healthcare when needed (Adjusted Risk Ratio [ARR] = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.14, 1.95). We also found that women whose domestic care burden increased under the pandemic were more likely to delay healthcare seeking (ARR = 1.84, 95% CI = 1.05, 3.21). Delayed healthcare seeking mediated the associations between each of our exposure variables with our outcome variable, non-receipt of needed healthcare. Interpretation: Our findings suggested that women's perceptions of healthcare systems and their domestic labour burdens affected healthcare seeking during the pandemic in India, even before the second wave of COVID-19 incapacitated the health system. Support for women and health systems is needed to ensure healthcare uptake during crises. Funding: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, USA (grant numbers: R01HD084453- 01A1 and RO1HD61115); Department of Biotechnology, Government of India (grant #BT/IN/US/01/BD/2010); the EMERGE project (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Grants: OPP1163682 and INV018007; PI Anita Raj), and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Grant number INV-002967.

Changes in the utilisation of acute hospital care in Ireland during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

BACKGROUND: Reduced and delayed presentations for non-COVID-19 illness during the COVID-19 pandemic have implications for population health and health systems. The aim of this study is to quantify and characterise changes in acute hospital healthcare utilisation in Ireland during the first wave of COVID-19 to inform healthcare system planning and recovery. METHODS: A retrospective, population-based, observational study was conducted using two national datasets, Patient Experience Time (PET) and Hospital In-Patient Enquiry (HIPE). The study period was 6th January to 5th July 2020. RESULTS: Comparison between time periods pre- and post-onset of the COVID-19 pandemic within 2020 showed there were 81,712 fewer Emergency Department (ED) presentations (-18.8%), 19,692 fewer admissions from ED (-17.4%) and 210,357 fewer non-COVID-19 hospital admissions (-35.0%) than expected based on pre-COVID-19 activity. Reductions were greatest at the peak of population-level restrictions, at extremes of age and for elective admissions. In the period immediately following the first wave, acute hospital healthcare utilisation remained below pre-COVID-19 levels, however, there were increases in emergency alcohol-related admissions (Rate Ratio 1.22, 95% CI 1.03, 1.43, p-value 0.016), admissions with self-harm (Rate Ratio 1.39, 95% CI 1.01, 1.91, p-value 0.043) and mental health admissions (Rate Ratio 1.28, 95% CI 1.03, 1.60, p-value 0.028). DISCUSSION: While public health implications of delayed and lost care will only become fully apparent over time, recovery planning must begin immediately. In the short-term, backlogs in care need to be managed and population health impacts of COVID-19 and associated restrictions, particularly in relation to mental health and alcohol, need to be addressed through strong public health and health system responses. In the long-term, COVID-19 highlights health system weakness and is an opportunity to progress health system reform to deliver a universal, high-quality, sustainable and resilient health system, capable of meeting population health needs and responding to future pandemics.

Predictors and Consequences of Not Seeking Healthcare during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Findings from the HEAF Cohort.

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a dramatic reduction of routine healthcare availability in many European countries. Among a cohort of English middle-aged adults, we explored pre-pandemic and pandemic factors associated with not seeking healthcare during lockdown, and their effect on subsequent self-reported health measures. Longitudinal data from the Health and Employment After Fifty (HEAF) cohort were used. Pre-pandemic data came from the 5th annual follow-up (2019), when participants were aged 56-71 years, and pandemic data were collected by e-survey in February 2021 and November 2021. Response rates of the two e-surveys were 53% and 79%, respectively. Pre-pandemic predictors of not seeking healthcare were: female gender, higher BMI, higher comorbidity, poorer self-rated health and depression; non-care seekers were also more likely to report that family or friends were affected by COVID-19 and to have been advised to shield. Not seeking healthcare during lockdown was associated with a higher risk of reporting worsening of physical, but not mental, health during the later phase of the pandemic. In this cohort, those with generally poorer health were disproportionately more likely to not seek healthcare during lockdown, which may potentially exacerbate pre-existing inequalities and lead to longer-term health consequences.

Migrants' primary care utilisation before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in England: An interrupted time series analysis.

Background: How international migrants access and use primary care in England is poorly understood. We aimed to compare primary care consultation rates between international migrants and non-migrants in England before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (2015-2020). Methods: Using data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) GOLD, we identified migrants using country-of-birth, visa-status or other codes indicating international migration. We linked CPRD to Office for National Statistics deprivation data and ran a controlled interrupted time series (ITS) using negative binomial regression to compare rates before and during the pandemic. Findings: In 262,644 individuals, pre-pandemic consultation rates per person-year were 4.35 (4.34-4.36) for migrants and 4.60 (4.59-4.60) for non-migrants (RR:0.94 [0.92-0.96]). Between 29 March and 26 December 2020, rates reduced to 3.54 (3.52-3.57) for migrants and 4.2 (4.17-4.23) for non-migrants (RR:0.84 [0.8-0.88]). The first year of the pandemic was associated with a widening of the gap in consultation rates between migrants and non-migrants to 0.89 (95% CI 0.84-0.94) times the ratio before the pandemic. This widening in ratios was greater for children, individuals whose first language was not English, and individuals of White British, White non-British and Black/African/Caribbean/Black British ethnicities. It was also greater in the case of telephone consultations, particularly in London. Interpretation: Migrants were less likely to use primary care than non-migrants before the pandemic and the first year of the pandemic exacerbated this difference. As GP practices retain remote and hybrid models of service delivery, they must improve services and ensure primary care is accessible and responsive to migrants' healthcare needs. Funding: This study was funded by the Medical Research Council (MC_PC 19070 and MR/V028375/1) and a Wellcome Clinical Research Career Development Fellowship (206602).

Healthcare utilisation and physical activities for older adults with comorbidities in the UK during COVID-19.

A major concern with COVID-19 was the impact it would have on individual health, the routine use of healthcare services, and physical activities, especially for older adults with comorbidities. To address this, we studied the association between these variables for older adults during the pandemic. To explore what policy instruments might be effective in mitigating the negative impacts, we investigated the effects of a shielding notice for those identified as vulnerable by the government and social media given it has been an important source for disseminating information of COVID-19. We employed a UK sample with 3,807 participants aged ≥50 from an online survey administered during May and June 2020. Based on numbers of comorbidities, we separated the sample into a higher comorbidity group with those in the upper quartile of the sample (n = 829) and a lower comorbidity group with the remainder (n = 2,978). Statistical methods include chi-squared analyses and cross-sectional regressions. We found that individuals with higher comorbidities were more likely to have poorer self-reported health and mental health and to receive a shielding notice from the government compared to those without (p < 0.05). Decreases in physical activities were associated with poorer self-reported health and the increases were associated with better self-reported health; on the other hand, the decreases were associated with poorer mental health, but the increases did not link to better mental health. Examination of the effects of policy instruments shows that a shielding notice was positively associated with primary care use. The notice generated greater reliance on telephone/video consultations compared to in-person consultations, but the impacts were less strong for people with higher comorbidities. Frequent use of social media raised the probability of increasing physical activities and reduced that of decreasing physical activities, implying social media being an effective tool in promoting physical activities during the lockdown and subsequent restrictions.

Describing the indirect impact of COVID-19 on healthcare utilisation using syndromic surveillance systems.

BACKGROUND: Since the end of January 2020, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has been responsible for a global health crisis. In England a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions have been introduced throughout the pandemic, including guidelines on healthcare attendance (for example, promoting remote consultations), increased handwashing and social distancing. These interventions are likely to have impacted the incidence of non-COVID-19 conditions as well as healthcare seeking behaviour. Syndromic Surveillance Systems offer the ability to monitor trends in healthcare usage over time. METHODS: This study describes the indirect impact of COVID-19 on healthcare utilisation using a range of syndromic indicators including eye conditions, mumps, fractures, herpes zoster and cardiac conditions. Data from the syndromic surveillance systems monitored by Public Health England were used to describe the number of contacts with NHS 111, general practitioner (GP) In Hours (GPIH) and Out-of-Hours (GPOOH), Ambulance and Emergency Department (ED) services over comparable periods before and during the pandemic. RESULTS: The peak pandemic period in 2020 (weeks 13-20), compared to the same period in 2019, displayed on average a 12% increase in NHS 111 calls, an 11% decrease in GPOOH consultations, and a 49% decrease in ED attendances. In the GP In Hours system, conjunctivitis consultations decreased by 64% and mumps consultations by 31%. There was a 49% reduction in attendance at EDs for fractures, and there was no longer any weekend increase in ED fracture attendances, with similar attendance patterns observed across each day of the week. There was a decrease in the number of ED attendances with diagnoses of myocardial ischaemia. CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 pandemic drastically impacted healthcare utilisation for non-COVID-19 conditions, due to a combination of a probable decrease in incidence of certain conditions and changes in healthcare seeking behaviour. Syndromic surveillance has a valuable role in describing and understanding these trends.

Effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on disease recognition and utilisation of healthcare services in the older population in Germany: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: There is little evidence about the utilisation of healthcare services and disease recognition in the older population, which was urged to self-isolate during the COVID-19 lockdown. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to describe the utilisation of physician consultations, specialist referrals, hospital admissions and the recognition of incident diseases in Germany for this age group during the COVID-19 lockdown. DESIGN: Cross-sectional observational study. SETTING: 1,095 general practitioners (GPs) and 960 specialist practices in Germany. SUBJECTS: 2.45 million older patients aged 65 or older. METHODS: The number of documented physician consultations, specialist referrals, hospital admissions and incident diagnoses during the imposed lockdown in 2020 was descriptively analysed and compared to 2019. RESULTS: Physician consultations decrease slightly in February (-2%), increase before the imposed lockdown in March (+9%) and decline in April (-18%) and May (-14%) 2020 compared to the same periods in 2019. Volumes of hospital admissions decrease earlier and more intensely than physician consultations (-39 versus -6%, respectively). Overall, 15, 16 and 18% fewer incident diagnoses were documented by GPs, neurologists and diabetologists, respectively, in 2020. Diabetes, dementia, depression, cancer and stroke were diagnosed less frequently during the lockdown (-17 to -26%), meaning that the decrease in the recognition of diseases was greater than the decrease in physician consultations. CONCLUSION: The data suggest that organisational changes were adopted quickly by practice management but also raise concerns about the maintenance of routine care. Prospective studies should evaluate the long-term effects of lockdowns on patient-related outcomes.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on harm reduction services in Spain.

BACKGROUND: Containment policies and other restrictions introduced by the Spanish government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic present challenges for marginalised populations, such as people who use drugs. Harm reduction centres are often linked to social services, mental health services, and infectious disease testing, in addition to tools and services that help to reduce the harms associated with injecting drugs. This study aimed to explore the impact of the pandemic on these services in four autonomous communities in Spain. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study that employed a seven-section structured survey administered electronically to 20 centres in July 2020. Data from the most heavily affected months (March-June) in 2020 were compared to data from the same period in 2019. Averages were calculated with their ranges, rates, and absolute numbers. RESULTS: All 11 responding centres reported having had to adapt or modify their services during the Spanish state of alarm (14 March-21 June 2020). One centre reported complete closure for 2 months and four reported increases in their operating hours. The average number of service users across all centres decreased by 22% in comparison to the same period in the previous year and the average needle distribution decreased by 40% in comparison to 2019. Most centres reported a decrease in infectious disease testing rates (hepatitis B and C viruses, human immunodeficiency virus, and tuberculosis) for March, April, and May in 2020 compared to the previous year. Reported deaths as a result of overdose did not increase during the state of alarm, but 2/11 (18%) centres reported an increase in overdose deaths immediately after finalisation of the state of alarm. CONCLUSION: Overall, Spanish harm reduction centres were able to continue operating and offering services by adjusting operating hours. The number of overall service users and needles distributed fell during the Spanish state of alarm lockdown period, suggesting that fewer clients accessed harm reduction services during this time, putting them at greater risk of reusing or sharing injecting equipment, overdosing, acquiring infectious diseases with decreased access to testing or discontinuing ongoing treatment such as methadone maintenance therapy, hepatitis C treatment, or antiretroviral therapy.

The impact of lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic on osteoporotic fragility fractures: an observational study.

We investigated whether osteoporotic fractures declined during lockdown, among adults aged 50 years and older. We showed that fewer outpatients attended the Fracture Clinic, for non-hip fractures, during lockdown; in contrast, no change in admissions for hip fractures was observed. This could be due to fewer outdoors falls, during lockdown. PURPOSE: Many countries implemented a lockdown to control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. We explored whether outpatient attendances to the Fracture Clinic for non-hip fragility fracture and inpatient admissions for hip fracture declined during lockdown, among adults aged 50 years and older, in a large secondary care hospital. METHODS: In our observational study, we analysed the records of 6681 outpatients attending the Fracture Clinic, for non-hip fragility fractures, and those of 1752 inpatients, admitted for hip fracture, during the time frames of interest. These were weeks 1st to 12th in 2020 ("prior to lockdown"), weeks 13th to 19th in 2020 ("lockdown") and corresponding periods over 2015 to 2019. We tested for differences in mean numbers (standard deviation (SD)) of outpatients and inpatients, respectively, per week, during the time frames of interest, across the years. RESULTS: Prior to lockdown, in 2020, 63.1 (SD 12.6) outpatients per week attended the Fracture Clinic, similar to previous years (p value 0.338). During lockdown, 26.0 (SD 7.3) outpatients per week attended the Fracture Clinic, fewer than previous years (p value < 0.001); similar findings were observed in both sexes and age groups (all p values < 0.001). During lockdown, 16.1 (SD 5.6) inpatients per week were admitted for hip fracture, similar to previous years (p value 0.776). CONCLUSION: During lockdown, fewer outpatients attended the Fracture Clinic, for non-hip fragility fractures, while no change in inpatient admissions for hip fracture was observed. This could reflect fewer non-hip fractures and may inform allocation of resources during pandemic.