Two in five American adults lacked medical attention at the start of the pandemic

Two in five people delayed or missed medical care at the start of the pandemic – from March to mid-July 2020 – according to a new survey by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

The survey of 1,337 American adults found that 544, or 41 percent, delayed or missed medical attention during the survey period. Of the 1,055 people who reported needing medical attention, 29% (307 respondents) indicated that fear of transmitting COVID-19 was the main reason. Seven percent (75 respondents) indicated that financial problems were the main reason for delay or lack of care.

The results were published online in JAMA network open January 21.

Understanding the reasons why individuals forgo care is important in designing policies and clinical interventions to limit the extent of care foregone. This is especially relevant as COVID-19 cases are on the rise again. “

Kelly Anderson, study lead author, PhD candidate, Department of Health Policy and Management, Bloomberg School

During the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. health care system experienced major disruption, including the closure of medical offices, the cancellation of elective procedures, and the transition of many health services to telehealth. Due to the disruption, many people have missed or postponed medical care, which can lead to increased health complications, costs, and delayed diagnosis.

The survey, which is part of the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 Civic Life and Public Health Survey, was conducted July 7-22, 2020. The sample was drawn from NORC’s Amerispeak panel, a sample in Nationally representative line of US households. Respondents were asked if they were missing several types of care, including doses of prescription drugs, scheduled preventive care visits, scheduled outpatient medical or mental health visits, elective surgeries, or care. new serious physical or mental health problems.

Among the 1337 respondents to the survey, 29% (387 respondents) declared having missed a preventive care visit, 26% (343 respondents) declared having missed a general outpatient medical appointment, 8% (108 respondents) reported missing one or more doses of a prescription drug, 8 percent (105 respondents) reported missing an outpatient mental health appointment, 6 percent (77 respondents) reported missing elective surgery, and 3 percent (38 respondents) said they had not received health care for a new serious mental or physical health problem.

Of the 1,055 people who reported needing medical care from March to mid-July 2020, more than half, 52% (554 respondents) said they lacked care. Of these, 58 percent who had a scheduled preventive care appointment missed the appointment and 60 percent (77 respondents) with a scheduled scheduled surgery abandoned the procedure. About half, 51 percent (38 respondents), of respondents with a new serious mental health or physical health problem that started after the start of the pandemic, said they were not seeking care for a new health problem.

The investigation also revealed disruptions in prescription drugs. Among 725 respondents who reported taking a prescription drug, three times as many Hispanic respondents reported missing prescription drugs compared to non-Hispanic white respondents – 30% (33 of 109 respondents) versus 10% (50 of 482 respondents ).

Twenty-two percent of respondents aged 18 to 34 reported missing prescription drugs (45 of 204 respondents), compared to 6% of adults over 65 (10 of 160 respondents) and 16% of 35 at 49 (29 respondents out of 182).

Twenty-seven percent of respondents in households with incomes below $ 35,000 per year reported missing prescription drugs, compared to 6% of respondents in households with income above $ 75,000 or more. dollars (66 out of 244 and 16 out of 255 respondents). Thirty-six percent of people insured with Medicaid reported a higher frequency of missed prescription drugs (41 of 114 respondents), compared to 10 percent of those with commercial insurance (52 of 517 respondents).

Finally, among those who reported needing medical care, respondents who were unemployed reported higher frequencies of abandoned medical care (65% vs. 50%, 121 of 186 respondents and 251 of 503 respondents, respectively), missed doses of medication (39% vs. 50%). 13 percent, 46 of 117 respondents and 46 of 367 respondents, respectively) and missed appointments (70 percent vs. 56 percent, 111 of 159 respondents and 225 of 405 respondents, respectively) compared to people who had a employment.

“These interruptions in necessary medical care related to COVID-19 will likely have longer-term consequences beyond the pandemic – including exacerbating health disparities,” says Colleen Barry, MPP, PhD, Professor Fred and Julie Soper, chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management at Bloomberg School, and lead author of the study. “Our study indicates that many people forgo medical care for economic reasons, which suggests that economic stimulus policies such as extending unemployment benefits could also have important health benefits.”