An observational analysis of 7 linked longitudinal studies in England shows that individuals whose access to care was disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic were more likely to have a potentially avoidable hospital admission.
It is known that during the COVID-19 pandemic, much planned care was postponed or postponed due to increasing pressure on healthcare and fear of contamination. The aim of this observational analysis was to investigate whether there is an association between experiencing disrupted access to care during the pandemic and the risk of a preventable hospital admission. Data from 29,276 people were used for the period March 2020 to August 2022. An avoidable hospital admission was defined as an unplanned admission that could possibly have been prevented by timely provision of care. A distinction was made between admissions for ‘ambulatory care sensitive’ conditions, which in theory would never require a hospital admission, and ’emergency urgent care sensitive’ conditions, which involve exacerbations of more serious conditions that could potentially lead to hospital admission, but which must be kept to a minimum through good and timely ‘community care’.
9742 participants reported some form of disrupted access to healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic. They had an increased risk of hospitalization for all (OR 1.80; 95% CI 1.39-2.34), acute (2.01; 1.39-2.92) and chronic (1.80; 1.31-2.48) ambulatory care sensitive conditions. Individuals who specifically reported a disruption in access to medicines or appointments were at higher risk of being admitted for an ambulatory care sensitive condition. Individuals who reported a disruption in access to procedures were more likely to be admitted for a chronic ambulatory care sensitive or emergency urgent care sensitive condition.
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2023-10-17 10:24:33
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