Division of Social Welfare & Health Administration, Wonkwang University, Iksan, Korea.
JW LEE Center for Global Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2023 Aug 11;23(1):850. doi: 10.1186/s12913-023-09807-8.
Existing evidence highlights that the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with a large reduction in healthcare utilization for routine and less-urgent services around the world including Korea. During the COVID-19 pandemic, delayed and foregone healthcare are driven by various factors, and risk perception, a complex psychological construct, is one of them. The aim of this study was to examine how COVID-19 risk perceptions influence delayed and foregone care during the pandemic in Korea.
The Koreans' Happiness Survey (KHS) 2020 was used to analyze responses from 13,491 individuals over 19 years of age residing in Korea. To assess delayed and foregone care, self-reported delayed or foregone care after the COVID-19 outbreak was used. COVID-19 risk perceptions were analyzed in terms of fear and severity of the pandemic based on responses from the participants. Logistic regression models, stratified by gender, were used to examine the relationship between COVID-19 risk perception and delayed/foregone healthcare.
Among the total 13,491 individuals included in the study, 4.0% (n = 541) reported delayed and foregone care in 2020. The results showed that higher level of fear of COVID-19 was associated with an increased likelihood of reporting delayed and foregone care in Korean adults (OR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.08-1.73). The gender-stratified model revealed that greater fear of COVID-19 was associated with higher odds of delayed and foregone healthcare (OR = 1.71, 95%CI = 1.23-2.39) among women while the perceived severity did not have any association. However, the perceived severity was associated with a higher likelihood of delayed and foregone care in men (OR = 1.17, 95%CI = 1.04-1.32), but no association was found between fear of COVID-19 and delayed and foregone healthcare in men.
To ensure the timely use of any needed healthcare services, it is worth considering establishing policy interventions to mitigate unnecessary fear and worries about COVID-19. This can be achieved by providing accurate information on the virus, protective measures, and treatment.
现有证据表明，COVID-19 大流行导致全球医疗保健服务利用率大幅下降，包括韩国。在 COVID-19 大流行期间，延迟和放弃医疗保健服务的原因有很多，风险感知是其中之一，这是一种复杂的心理结构。本研究旨在探讨韩国 COVID-19 风险感知如何影响大流行期间的延迟和放弃医疗服务。
使用 2020 年韩国幸福调查（KHS）分析了居住在韩国的 13491 名 19 岁以上人群的反应。为了评估延迟和放弃的医疗保健，使用了 COVID-19 爆发后自我报告的延迟或放弃的医疗保健。根据参与者的回答，从恐惧和大流行严重程度两个方面分析了 COVID-19 风险感知。使用逻辑回归模型，按性别分层，研究 COVID-19 风险感知与延迟/放弃医疗保健之间的关系。
在纳入的 13491 名总人群中，有 4.0%（n=541）在 2020 年报告了延迟和放弃的医疗服务。结果表明，对 COVID-19 的恐惧程度越高，韩国成年人报告延迟和放弃医疗服务的可能性越大（OR=1.36，95%CI=1.08-1.73）。性别分层模型显示，对 COVID-19 的恐惧程度越高，女性延迟和放弃医疗服务的可能性越大（OR=1.71，95%CI=1.23-2.39），而对 COVID-19 的严重程度则没有关联。然而，对 COVID-19 的严重程度与男性延迟和放弃医疗服务的可能性更高有关（OR=1.17，95%CI=1.04-1.32），但对 COVID-19 的恐惧与男性延迟和放弃医疗服务之间没有关联。
为了确保及时使用任何必要的医疗服务，值得考虑采取政策干预措施，减轻对 COVID-19 的不必要恐惧和担忧。可以通过提供有关病毒、保护措施和治疗的准确信息来实现。
