IADR Abstract Archives
Reduced Access to Healthcare During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic continues to represent a global public health crisis. Current evidence is suggestive of socio-economic disparities in the population affected by COVID-19 due to reduced access to healthcare services. This study aims to analyze a national database to quantify the reduction in healthcare access during the pandemic with respect to age, race, gender, and education level.
Methods: Data was used from the National Center for Health Statistics and collected from May 17, 2021 to June 30, 2021. This study focused on the percentage of U.S. adults who were unable to receive medical care (dental care, hearing care, vision care, regular checkups, and urgent care) in the last 2 months. Point Biserial correlation was used to measure the relation between percentage of reduction in access to medical care and certain demographics.
Results: Of 5,458 completed interviews, females had a higher percentage of reduction in access to medical care as a result of both pandemic and non-pandemic events than men (p<0.05). Adults 18-44 years, as well as non-Hispanic blacks, had less access to regular checkups for any reason other than pandemic (p<0.05). Also, non-Hispanic black people had less access to urgent care due to the pandemic than other races (2.2 %) (p<0.05). Further, individuals with some college education had the most limited access to urgent care due to non-pandemic events (5.7) (p<0.05).
Conclusions: This study highlights racial, gender, and socioeconomic disparities in the access to healthcare services during the COVID-19 pandemic, likely an exacerbation of already existing social inequalities. Further higher-quality studies analyzing socioeconomic factors during the pandemic are needed, which may have important implications for public health policy.
Methods: Data was used from the National Center for Health Statistics and collected from May 17, 2021 to June 30, 2021. This study focused on the percentage of U.S. adults who were unable to receive medical care (dental care, hearing care, vision care, regular checkups, and urgent care) in the last 2 months. Point Biserial correlation was used to measure the relation between percentage of reduction in access to medical care and certain demographics.
Results: Of 5,458 completed interviews, females had a higher percentage of reduction in access to medical care as a result of both pandemic and non-pandemic events than men (p<0.05). Adults 18-44 years, as well as non-Hispanic blacks, had less access to regular checkups for any reason other than pandemic (p<0.05). Also, non-Hispanic black people had less access to urgent care due to the pandemic than other races (2.2 %) (p<0.05). Further, individuals with some college education had the most limited access to urgent care due to non-pandemic events (5.7) (p<0.05).
Conclusions: This study highlights racial, gender, and socioeconomic disparities in the access to healthcare services during the COVID-19 pandemic, likely an exacerbation of already existing social inequalities. Further higher-quality studies analyzing socioeconomic factors during the pandemic are needed, which may have important implications for public health policy.