ArticleBMC public health2023
A multi-country survey on access to healthcare and treatment services among individuals with critical medical care needs during the first wave of the pandemic.
Article in BMC public health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Reasons for referral to a social prescribing program through the COVID-19 pandemic and associated factors: a cross-sectional study in Portugal.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Identifying the causes of adolescent malnutrition in Nuwara-Eliya District, Sri Lanka.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Age-related variations in mental health and wellbeing during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: a multi-country survey analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- HIV Services Uptake Among People Living with HIV in Jiangsu Province, China: A Cross-Sectional Study.AIDS and behavior · 2024Article
- Impact of Ebola and COVID-19 on maternal, neonatal, and child health care among populations affected by conflicts: a scoping review exploring demand and supply-side barriers and solutions.Conflict and health · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
16 authors at 6 institutions in 11 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundHealthcare services were significantly interrupted during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the present study was to determine the associations between sociodemographic factors and healthcare access during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic among individuals with critical care needs.
methodsThis was a secondary analysis of the data of 5,156 participants recruited from 152 countries during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The dependent variables were self-reported difficulty of access to health care, challenges with obtaining medication, and the use of alternative medical services. The independent variables were age at last birthday; sex at birth, level of education, employment status and the macro-social vulnerability status. The confounding variable was the country income level. Three multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the associations between the dependent variables and the independent variables after adjusting for the confounder.
resultsDifficulty accessing health care services and obtaining medications was experienced by 1922 (37.3%) and 3746 (72.7%) participants respectively. Also, 1433 (27.8%) used alternative medical care. Retirees (AOR:1.59), unemployed (AOR:1.198), people living with HIV (AOR:2.36) and at increased risk of COVID-19 (AOR:2.10), people who used drugs (AOR:1.83) and transacted sex (AOR:1.971) had significantly higher odds for reporting difficulty with access to health care. Males (AOR:1.23), respondents with secondary level of education (AOR:1.39), retirees (AOR:2.19), unemployed (AOR:1.47), people living with HIV (AOR:2.46), people who used drugs (AOR:1.79), transacted sex (AOR:2.71) and those who might be (AOR: 1.66) and were at (AOR: 2.3) increased risk of severe COVID-19 had significantly higher odds for reporting difficulty with access to medications. People who used drugs (AOR:2.093) transacted sex (AOR:1.639), who might be (AOR: 1.211) and were at (AOR: 1.511) increased risk of severe COVID-19, and who had difficulty accessing usual healthcare (AOR: 9.047) and obtaining medications (AOR:2.16) had significantly higher odds of reporting alternative medical care use. People living with HIV (AOR:0.562) had significantly lower odds of using alternative medical care.
conclusionWe identified populations who had challenges with access to healthcare and obtaining medications used alternative medical care except for people living with HIV. Priority attention should be given to alternative medical care use during future health pandemics.
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