ArticleBMJ open2022
Sociodemographic differences in patient experience with primary care during COVID-19: results from a cross-sectional survey in Ontario, Canada.
Article in BMJ open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Influencing factors of patients' behavior of healthcare seeking: a meta-analysis in China.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- Perceptions and use of publicly funded episodic virtual care: Cross-sectional survey data from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2026Article
- Complexity of medical needs and primary care attachment shape patient experiences with episodic virtual primary care: a mixed methods study in two Canadian provinces.BMC primary care · 2026Article
- Patient Living With Chronic Illness Perception of Interprofessional Collaboration in a Telehealth Context in Primary Care: Protocol for a Qualitative Descriptive Study.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- Article
- Changes in emergency and primary care use after adding virtual physicians to HealthLink BC's 8-1-1 program.NPJ digital medicine · 2025Article
- Impact of the cost-of-living crisis on patient preferences towards virtual consultations.Journal of telemedicine and telecare · 2025Article
- Examining experiences and system impacts of publicly funded episodic virtual care: protocol for a cross-provincial mixed methods study.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Uses of Virtual Care in Primary Care: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Primary care in the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond: Lessons from Ontario.Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2025Article
- Characteristics of walk-in clinic physicians and patients in Ontario: Cross-sectional study.Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2024Article
- Longer-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA)-related healthcare: a province-based study.BMJ open respiratory research · 2024Article
- Patient Experience With Resident Versus Staff Physicians: Results From a Cross-Sectional Patient Survey From Canadian Family Medicine Residencies.Family medicine · 2024Article
- Patients' experience with German primary care practices during Covid-19: an interview study.BJGP open · 2024Article
- Applying the lessons of design thinking: a unique programme of care for acutely unwell, community-dwelling COVID-19 patients.BMJ open quality · 2024Article
- Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Primary Health Care for Chronic Conditions in Canada: Protocol for a Retrospective Pre-Post Study Using National Practice-Based Research Network Data.JMIR research protocols · 2023Article
- Virtual Care and Emergency Department Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Patients of Family Physicians in Ontario, Canada.JAMA network open · 2023Article
- Characteristics and Health Care Use of Patients Attending Virtual Walk-in Clinics in Ontario, Canada: Cross-sectional Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Article
- Article
- The primary care experience of adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). An interpretative phenomenological inquiry.PloS one · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeWe sought to understand patients' care-seeking behaviours early in the pandemic, their use and views of different virtual care modalities, and whether these differed by sociodemographic factors.
methodsWe conducted a multisite cross-sectional patient experience survey at 13 academic primary care teaching practices between May and June 2020. An anonymised link to an electronic survey was sent to a subset of patients with a valid email address on file; sampling was based on birth month. For each question, the proportion of respondents who selected each response was calculated, followed by a comparison by sociodemographic characteristics using χ
resultsIn total, 7532 participants responded to the survey. Most received care from their primary care clinic during the pandemic (67.7%, 5068/7482), the majority via phone (82.5%, 4195/5086). Among those who received care, 30.53% (1509/4943) stated that they delayed seeking care because of the pandemic. Most participants reported a high degree of comfort with phone (92.4%, 3824/4139), video (95.2%, 238/250) and email or messaging (91.3%, 794/870). However, those reporting difficulty making ends meet, poor or fair health and arriving in Canada in the last 10 years reported lower levels of comfort with virtual care and fewer wanted their practice to continue offering virtual options after the pandemic.
conclusionsOur study suggests that newcomers, people living with a lower income and those reporting poor or fair health have a stronger preference and comfort for in-person primary care. Further research should explore potential barriers to virtual care and how these could be addressed.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.