Impact of Social Deprivation on Hospitalization and Intensive Care Unit Admission among COVID-19 Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Iranian Journal of Public Health
; 51(11):2458-2471, 2022.
Article
in English
| Web of Science | ID: covidwho-2126353
ABSTRACT
Background:
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has disproportionately affected socially disadvantaged groups;however, the association between socioeconomic status and healthcare utilization among COVID-19 patients remains unclear. Therefore, a systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to assess the association between socioeconomic status and hospitalization and intensive care unit admission among COVID-19 patients.Methods:
PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials were searched for relevant litera-ture (updated to Jun 2022). Studies that investigated the association of social deprivation with hospitalization and intensive care unit admission in COVID-19 patients were included. The primary outcomes included risk of hospitalization and intensive care unit admission, measured by odds ratio.Results:
Eleven studies covering 2,423,095 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Socially disadvantaged patients had higher odds of hospitalization in comparison to socially advantaged patients (odds ratio 1.25, 95% confidence interval 1.14 to 1.38;P<0.01). The odds of intensive care unit admission among more deprived patients was not significantly different from that of less deprived patients (odds ratio 1.03, 95% confidence interval 0.78 to 1.35;P=0.85). These findings were proven robust through subgroup and sensitivity analyses.Conclusion:
Socially disadvantaged populations have higher odds of hospitalization if they become infected with COVID-19. More effective medical support and interventions for these vulnerable populations are re-quired to reduce inequity in healthcare utilization and alleviate the burden on healthcare systems.
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Collection:
Databases of international organizations
Database:
Web of Science
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Reviews
/
Systematic review/Meta Analysis
Language:
English
Journal:
Iranian Journal of Public Health
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
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