Patients' Engagement in Early Detection of COVID-19 Symptoms: An Observational Study in the Very Early Peak of the Pandemic in Italy in 2020.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
; 19(5)2022 03 05.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1732024
ABSTRACT
COVID-19 exerted a strong impact on the Italian healthcare systems, which in turn resulted in a reduction in the citizens' trust towards healthcare authorities. Moreover, the focused attention on the typical COVID-19 symptoms (fever, cough) has also impacted the social representation of health priorities, potentially reducing the perceived importance and severity of other symptoms. This study aimed to determine the association of general-practitioner (GP) contact with various symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic in Cremona, an Italian city at the very epicentre of the pandemic. Between April and June 2020, an anonymous survey was completed by 2161 respondents. Logistic-regression analyses were used to examine the associations of GP contact with sociodemographic characteristics and the presence of symptoms. Of the 2161 respondents (43.5% female, 75.0% aged less than 55 years), 959 (44.4%) reported experiencing various symptoms and 33.3% contacted a GP. GP contact was significantly associated with poor appetite (OR, 2.42; 95% CI 1.63 to 3.62; p < 0.001), taste dysfunctions (OR 1.67; 95% CI 1.20 to 2.34; p < 0.001) and sleepiness during the day (OR 4.15; 95% CI 2.13 to 8.09; p = 0.002). None of the gastrointestinal symptoms resulted in significantly increasing the likelihood of contacting a GP. This study offers a unique observation of citizens' attitudes and behaviours in early symptom communication/detection during the initial peak of the Italian COVID-19 pandemic.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
General Practitioners
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Language:
English
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ijerph19053058
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