Growing inequities by immigration group among older adults: Population-based analysis of access to primary care and return to in-person visits during the COVID-19 pandemic in British Columbia, Canada

Author:

Sierra-Heredia CeciliaORCID,Tayyar Elmira,Bozorgi Yasmin,Thakore Padmini,Hagos Selamawit,Carrillo Ruth,Machado StefanieORCID,Peterson Sandra,Goldenberg ShiraORCID,Wiedmeyer Mei-lingORCID,Lavergne Ruth

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundThe onset of the COVID-19 pandemic drove a rapid and widespread shift to virtual care, followed by a gradual return to in-person visits. Virtual visits may offer more convenient access to care for some, but others may experience challenges accessing care virtually, and some medical needs must be met in-person. Experiences of the shift to virtual care and benefits of in-person care may vary by immigration experience (immigration status and duration), official language level, and age. We examined use of virtual care and return to in-person visits in the Canadian province of British Columbia (BC), comparing patterns by age and across immigration groups, including length of time in Canada and language level (English) at time of arrival.MethodsWe used linked administrative health and immigration data to examine total primary care visits (virtual or in-person) and return to in-person visits during the COVID-19 pandemic (2019/20-2021/2) in BC. We examined the proportion of people with any primary care visits and with any in-person visit within each year as measures of access to primary care. We estimated the odds of any primary care visit and any in-person visit by immigration group and official language level assessed prior to arrival: non-immigrants, long-term immigrants, recent immigrants (<5 years) with high assessed English level and recent immigrants (<5 years) with low assessed English level, stratified by age.ResultsIn general, changes in access to primary care (odds of any visit and odds of any in-person visit) were similar across immigration groups over the study period. However, we observed substantial disparities in access to primary care by immigration group among people aged 60+, particularly in recent immigrants with low official language level (0.42, 0.40-0.45). These disparities grew wider over the course of the pandemic.ConclusionThough among younger adults changes in access to primary care between 2019-2021 were similar across immigration groups, we observed significant and growing inequities among older adults, with particularly limited access among adults who immigrated recently and with low assessed English level. Targeted interventions to ensure acceptable, accessible care for older immigrants are needed.

Publisher

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Cited by 1 articles. 订阅此论文施引文献 订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3