Association between perception of COVID-19 risk, confidence in health services and avoidance of emergency department visits: results from a community-based survey in Portugal
Objectives To examine the association between the perception of COVID-19 risk, confidence in health services and avoidance of emergency department (ED) visits in Portugal during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design Community-based, cross-sectional survey.Setting Volunteer sample that completed the online su...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2022-07-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/7/e058600.full |
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| author | Silvia Lopes Sónia Dias Ana Gama Pedro Laires Carla Nunes Patrícia Soares Ana Rita Pedro Marta Moniz Ana Rita Goes |
| author_facet | Silvia Lopes Sónia Dias Ana Gama Pedro Laires Carla Nunes Patrícia Soares Ana Rita Pedro Marta Moniz Ana Rita Goes |
| author_sort | Silvia Lopes |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives To examine the association between the perception of COVID-19 risk, confidence in health services and avoidance of emergency department (ED) visits in Portugal during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design Community-based, cross-sectional survey.Setting Volunteer sample that completed the online survey between April 2020 and May 2021.Participants 987 participants who perceived needing ED care. Of those, 242 reported avoiding ED visits.Outcome measures Logistic regression models for ED avoidance were conducted to estimate the effect of risk perception and confidence in health services, adjusted for sociodemographics, health status and time.Results The adjusted odds for ED avoidance were higher for participants lacking confidence in health service response to non-COVID-19 conditions (adjusted OR: 6.39; 95% CI 3.19 to 12.82) and COVID-19 (1.81; 1.19 to 2.77) and lower for those perceiving a low risk of being infected at a health provider (0.16; 0.07 to 0.38).Conclusion In our sample, confidence in health services and risk perception of infection at a health provider were associated with the decision to avoid the ED. These results suggest that policymakers and care providers need to mitigate the negative consequences of delayed healthcare; be aware of the implications of distrust and fear from those in need of healthcare and provide equally distributed safe alternatives to ED care. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-df2c3739b472430591f2f61dff7f8869 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-df2c3739b472430591f2f61dff7f88692025-01-31T05:00:10ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552022-07-0112710.1136/bmjopen-2021-058600Association between perception of COVID-19 risk, confidence in health services and avoidance of emergency department visits: results from a community-based survey in PortugalSilvia Lopes0Sónia Dias1Ana Gama2Pedro Laires3Carla Nunes4Patrícia Soares5Ana Rita Pedro6Marta Moniz7Ana Rita Goes8Comprehensive Health Research Center, NOVA University Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal1 National School of Public Health, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal1 National School of Public Health, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Lisbon, PortugalComprehensive Health Research Center, NOVA University Lisbon, Lisbon, PortugalNOVA National School of Public Health, Public Health Research Center, NOVA University Lisbon, Lisbon, PortugalNOVA National School of Public Health, Public Health Research Center, NOVA University Lisbon, Lisbon, PortugalPublic Health Research Centre, Comprehensive Health Research Center (CHRC), NOVA University Lisbon NOVA National School of Public Health, Lisboa, PortugalNOVA National School of Public Health, Public Health Research Center, NOVA University Lisbon, Lisbon, PortugalNOVA National School of Public Health, Public Health Research Center, NOVA University Lisbon, Lisbon, PortugalObjectives To examine the association between the perception of COVID-19 risk, confidence in health services and avoidance of emergency department (ED) visits in Portugal during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design Community-based, cross-sectional survey.Setting Volunteer sample that completed the online survey between April 2020 and May 2021.Participants 987 participants who perceived needing ED care. Of those, 242 reported avoiding ED visits.Outcome measures Logistic regression models for ED avoidance were conducted to estimate the effect of risk perception and confidence in health services, adjusted for sociodemographics, health status and time.Results The adjusted odds for ED avoidance were higher for participants lacking confidence in health service response to non-COVID-19 conditions (adjusted OR: 6.39; 95% CI 3.19 to 12.82) and COVID-19 (1.81; 1.19 to 2.77) and lower for those perceiving a low risk of being infected at a health provider (0.16; 0.07 to 0.38).Conclusion In our sample, confidence in health services and risk perception of infection at a health provider were associated with the decision to avoid the ED. These results suggest that policymakers and care providers need to mitigate the negative consequences of delayed healthcare; be aware of the implications of distrust and fear from those in need of healthcare and provide equally distributed safe alternatives to ED care.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/7/e058600.full |
| spellingShingle | Silvia Lopes Sónia Dias Ana Gama Pedro Laires Carla Nunes Patrícia Soares Ana Rita Pedro Marta Moniz Ana Rita Goes Association between perception of COVID-19 risk, confidence in health services and avoidance of emergency department visits: results from a community-based survey in Portugal BMJ Open |
| title | Association between perception of COVID-19 risk, confidence in health services and avoidance of emergency department visits: results from a community-based survey in Portugal |
| title_full | Association between perception of COVID-19 risk, confidence in health services and avoidance of emergency department visits: results from a community-based survey in Portugal |
| title_fullStr | Association between perception of COVID-19 risk, confidence in health services and avoidance of emergency department visits: results from a community-based survey in Portugal |
| title_full_unstemmed | Association between perception of COVID-19 risk, confidence in health services and avoidance of emergency department visits: results from a community-based survey in Portugal |
| title_short | Association between perception of COVID-19 risk, confidence in health services and avoidance of emergency department visits: results from a community-based survey in Portugal |
| title_sort | association between perception of covid 19 risk confidence in health services and avoidance of emergency department visits results from a community based survey in portugal |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/7/e058600.full |
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