The relationship between healthcare access and change in health-related quality-of-life among the general population of five countries during the COVID-19 pandemic
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Published:2024-06-11
Issue:9
Volume:33
Page:2541-2552
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ISSN:0962-9343
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Container-title:Quality of Life Research
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language:en
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Short-container-title:Qual Life Res
Author:
Alexandrov Nadja, Scott Emily StellaORCID, Janssen Mathieu F., Lubetkin Erica I., Yfantopoulos John N., Bonsel Gouke J., Haagsma Juanita A.
Abstract
Abstract
Purpose
To determine whether (1) healthcare access at onset of the pandemic and (2) age, gender, socioeconomic status (SES), and pre-existing health status were associated with change in health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study includes a general population sample of five countries.
Methods
An online questionnaire was administered to respondents from Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, the UK, and the US at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic between April 22nd and May 5th of 2020, and 1 year later between May 23rd and June 29th of 2021. The questionnaire included questions on demographic background, health status, and HRQoL. The primary outcome was change in HRQoL as measured by the EQ-5D-5L instrument. Specifically, the EQ-5D-5L index and EQ VAS were used. Healthcare access was quantified with regard to the respondent’s ease of getting an appointment, waiting time, and opportunity to contact the provider and during analysis dichotomized into “sufficient” versus “insufficient”. Linear regression analysis was performed with change in HRQoL as dependent variable and background variables as independent variables.
Results
In total, 6,765 respondents completed the second questionnaire. 19.8% of total respondents reported insufficient healthcare access. Respondents with insufficient healthcare had both more improved and deteriorated HRQoL compared to respondents with sufficient healthcare, whose HRQoL remained unchanged. We did not find significant interactions between age, gender, SES and/or chronic disease status with healthcare access at onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conclusion
Healthcare access was not associated with cumulative differences in change in HRQoL over a 1-year period in strata of age, gender, SES, and chronic disease status.
Funder
EuroQol Research Foundation
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Reference62 articles.
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