Healthcare Avoidance before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Australian Youth: A Longitudinal Study
Background: Access to healthcare for young people is essential to ensure they can build a foundation for a healthy life. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, many people avoided seeking healthcare, adversely affecting population health. We investigated the factors associated with the avoidance of...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Healthcare |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/10/7/1261 |
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| author | Md Irteja Islam Joseph Freeman Verity Chadwick Alexandra Martiniuk |
| author_facet | Md Irteja Islam Joseph Freeman Verity Chadwick Alexandra Martiniuk |
| author_sort | Md Irteja Islam |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Access to healthcare for young people is essential to ensure they can build a foundation for a healthy life. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, many people avoided seeking healthcare, adversely affecting population health. We investigated the factors associated with the avoidance of healthcare for Australian young people when they reported that they needed healthcare. We were able to compare healthcare avoidance during the COVID-19 pandemic with healthcare avoidance prior to COVID-19. Methods: We used two recent data collection waves from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC)—Wave 9C1 during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and Wave 8 data which were collected in 2018. The primary outcome of this study revealed the avoidance of healthcare among those who perceived the need for care. Bivariate analyses and multiple logistic regression models were employed to identify the factors associated with the avoidance of healthcare during the COVID-19 and pre-COVID-19 periods. Results: In the sample of 1110 young people, 39.6% avoided healthcare during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic even though they perceived that they had a health problem that required healthcare. This healthcare avoidance was similar to the healthcare avoidance in the pre-COVID-19 pandemic period (41.4%). The factors most strongly associated with healthcare avoidance during the COVID-19 pandemic were female gender, an ongoing medical condition, and moderately high psychological distress. In comparison, prior to the pandemic, the factor associated with healthcare avoidance was only psychological distress. The most common reason for not seeking healthcare was thinking that the problem would spontaneously resolve itself (55.9% during COVID-19 vs. 35.7% pre-COVID-19 pandemic). Conclusions: A large proportion of youths avoided healthcare when they felt they needed to seek care, both during and before the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T03:22:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5cb0c7a77926429a9e3b33ea0aeac7dd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9032 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T03:22:26Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Healthcare |
| spelling | doaj.art-5cb0c7a77926429a9e3b33ea0aeac7dd2023-12-03T15:07:24ZengMDPI AGHealthcare2227-90322022-07-01107126110.3390/healthcare10071261Healthcare Avoidance before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Australian Youth: A Longitudinal StudyMd Irteja Islam0Joseph Freeman1Verity Chadwick2Alexandra Martiniuk3Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Edward Ford Building, A27 Fisher Road, Sydney, NSW 2006, AustraliaSydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Edward Ford Building, A27 Fisher Road, Sydney, NSW 2006, AustraliaRoyal North Shore Hospital, Reserve Rd., St. Leonard’s, Sydney, NSW 2065, AustraliaSydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Edward Ford Building, A27 Fisher Road, Sydney, NSW 2006, AustraliaBackground: Access to healthcare for young people is essential to ensure they can build a foundation for a healthy life. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, many people avoided seeking healthcare, adversely affecting population health. We investigated the factors associated with the avoidance of healthcare for Australian young people when they reported that they needed healthcare. We were able to compare healthcare avoidance during the COVID-19 pandemic with healthcare avoidance prior to COVID-19. Methods: We used two recent data collection waves from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC)—Wave 9C1 during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and Wave 8 data which were collected in 2018. The primary outcome of this study revealed the avoidance of healthcare among those who perceived the need for care. Bivariate analyses and multiple logistic regression models were employed to identify the factors associated with the avoidance of healthcare during the COVID-19 and pre-COVID-19 periods. Results: In the sample of 1110 young people, 39.6% avoided healthcare during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic even though they perceived that they had a health problem that required healthcare. This healthcare avoidance was similar to the healthcare avoidance in the pre-COVID-19 pandemic period (41.4%). The factors most strongly associated with healthcare avoidance during the COVID-19 pandemic were female gender, an ongoing medical condition, and moderately high psychological distress. In comparison, prior to the pandemic, the factor associated with healthcare avoidance was only psychological distress. The most common reason for not seeking healthcare was thinking that the problem would spontaneously resolve itself (55.9% during COVID-19 vs. 35.7% pre-COVID-19 pandemic). Conclusions: A large proportion of youths avoided healthcare when they felt they needed to seek care, both during and before the COVID-19 pandemic.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/10/7/1261COVID-19 pandemiccoronavirusservice accesshealthcare avoidanceperceived needadolescents |
| spellingShingle | Md Irteja Islam Joseph Freeman Verity Chadwick Alexandra Martiniuk Healthcare Avoidance before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Australian Youth: A Longitudinal Study Healthcare COVID-19 pandemic coronavirus service access healthcare avoidance perceived need adolescents |
| title | Healthcare Avoidance before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Australian Youth: A Longitudinal Study |
| title_full | Healthcare Avoidance before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Australian Youth: A Longitudinal Study |
| title_fullStr | Healthcare Avoidance before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Australian Youth: A Longitudinal Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Healthcare Avoidance before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Australian Youth: A Longitudinal Study |
| title_short | Healthcare Avoidance before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Australian Youth: A Longitudinal Study |
| title_sort | healthcare avoidance before and during the covid 19 pandemic among australian youth a longitudinal study |
| topic | COVID-19 pandemic coronavirus service access healthcare avoidance perceived need adolescents |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/10/7/1261 |
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