ArticleHRB open research2021
Changes in the utilisation of acute hospital care in Ireland during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Article in HRB open research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on elective care backlog trends, recovery efforts, and capacity needs to address backlogs in Scotland (2013-2023): a descriptive analysis and modelling study.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2025Article
- Health system reform in the context of COVID-19: a policy brief outlining lessons from Ireland's journey towards the goal of universal healthcare.Global health research and policy · 2025Article
- The role of governance in shaping health system reform: a case study of the design and implementation of new health regions in Ireland, 2018-2023.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patient complaints within one Irish teaching hospital.Irish journal of medical science · 2023Article
- How to not revert to type: Complexity-informed learnings from the pandemic response for health system reform and universal access to integrated care.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Working Lives and Retirement Timing of Older Nurses in Ireland.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Tracking aspects of healthcare activity during the first nine months of COVID-19 in Ireland: a secondary analysis of publicly available data.HRB open research · 2021Article
- Changes in the utilisation of acute hospital care in Ireland during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.HRB open research · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundReduced and delayed presentations for non-COVID-19 illness during the COVID-19 pandemic have implications for population health and health systems. The aim of this study is to quantify and characterise changes in acute hospital healthcare utilisation in Ireland during the first wave of COVID-19 to inform healthcare system planning and recovery.
methodsA retrospective, population-based, observational study was conducted using two national datasets, Patient Experience Time (PET) and Hospital In-Patient Enquiry (HIPE). The study period was 6th January to 5th July 2020.
resultsComparison between time periods pre- and post-onset of the COVID-19 pandemic within 2020 showed there were 81,712 fewer Emergency Department (ED) presentations (-18.8%), 19,692 fewer admissions from ED (-17.4%) and 210,357 fewer non-COVID-19 hospital admissions (-35.0%) than expected based on pre-COVID-19 activity. Reductions were greatest at the peak of population-level restrictions, at extremes of age and for elective admissions. In the period immediately following the first wave, acute hospital healthcare utilisation remained below pre-COVID-19 levels, however, there were increases in emergency alcohol-related admissions (Rate Ratio 1.22, 95% CI 1.03, 1.43, p-value 0.016), admissions with self-harm (Rate Ratio 1.39, 95% CI 1.01, 1.91, p-value 0.043) and mental health admissions (Rate Ratio 1.28, 95% CI 1.03, 1.60, p-value 0.028). DISCUSSION: While public health implications of delayed and lost care will only become fully apparent over time, recovery planning must begin immediately. In the short-term, backlogs in care need to be managed and population health impacts of COVID-19 and associated restrictions, particularly in relation to mental health and alcohol, need to be addressed through strong public health and health system responses. In the long-term, COVID-19 highlights health system weakness and is an opportunity to progress health system reform to deliver a universal, high-quality, sustainable and resilient health system, capable of meeting population health needs and responding to future pandemics.
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.