ArticleCMAJ open
Unmet health care needs during the COVID-19 pandemic among adults: a prospective cohort study in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.
Article in CMAJ open. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed.
- Experiences of healthcare access during the COVID-19 pandemic in remote Indigenous communities in Northwest Territories, Canada.International journal of circumpolar health · 2026Article
- Unmet Medical Needs Among Immigrants in Korea Before and During COVID-19.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Factors Associated with Unmet Healthcare Needs in Serbia Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Analysis Based on EU-SILC Data.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Insight into Post-Pandemic Needs in Healthcare and Well-Being Among Francophone Families in the Canadian Prairies.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Association of Unmet Healthcare Needs With Depressive Symptoms and COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Factors Among Adults, 2009-2022: A Nationwide Study in Korea.Journal of Korean medical science · 2025Article
- A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Study Using Health Administrative Data to Examine the Characteristics of Older Adults Incurring Delayed Discharge Days for Non-Clinical Reasons During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Alberta, Canada.Canadian geriatrics journal : CGJ · 2025Article
- Accessibility of Ontario pharmacies offering COVID-19 vaccination by rurality, community material deprivation, and ethnic concentration: a repeated cross-sectional geospatial analysis.BMC public health · 2025Article
- The hidden crisis: classifying unmet healthcare needs in European older adults during COVID-19.European journal of ageing · 2025Article
- Unmet Health Care Needs Among Older People in Canada: Does Household Food Insecurity Matter?Canadian geriatrics journal : CGJ · 2024Article
- National Trends in the Prevalence of Unmet Health Care and Dental Care Needs During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Longitudinal Study in South Korea, 2009-2022.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2024Article
- Delayed Access to Medical Care and Psychological Distress among Chinese Immigrants in Canada during the Pandemic.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- A comparison of factors associated with unmet healthcare needs in people with disabilities before and after COVID-19: a nationally representative population-based study.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Inequities in Health Service Needs Among Older Adults During COVID-19: A Gender-Stratified Analysis Using Longitudinal SHARE Data.Inquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financingArticle
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12 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic affected access to health care services in Canada; however, limited research examines the influence of the social determinants of health on unmet health care needs during the first year of the pandemic. The objectives of this study were to describe unmet health care needs during the first year of the pandemic and to investigate the association of unmet needs with the social determinants of health.
methodsWe conducted a prospective cohort study of 23 972 adults participating in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) COVID-19 Study (April-December 2020) to identify the social determinants of health associated with unmet health care needs during the pandemic. Using logistic regression, we assessed the association between several social determinants of health on the following 3 outcomes (separately): experiencing any challenges in accessing health care services, not going to a hospital or seeing a doctor when needed, and experiencing barriers to accessing testing for SARS-CoV-2 infection.
resultsFrom September to December 2020, 25% of participants experienced challenges accessing health care services, 8% did not go to a hospital or see a doctor when needed and 4% faced barriers accessing testing for SARS-CoV-2 infection. The prevalence of all 3 unmet need outcomes was lower among older age groups. Differences were observed by sex, region, education, income and racial background. Immigrants (odds ratio [OR] 1.18, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.09-1.27) or people with chronic conditions (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.27-1.43) had higher odds of experiencing challenges accessing health care services and had higher odds of not going to a hospital or seeing a doctor (immigrants OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.11-1.43; chronic conditions OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.31-1.61). Prepandemic unmet health care needs were strongly associated with all 3 outcomes.
interpretationSubstantial unmet health care needs were reported by Canadian adults during the first year of the pandemic. The results of this study have important implications for health equity.
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