[Non-utilisation of medical services during the COVID-19 pandemic among persons with chronic diseases]

The COVID-19 pandemic is also impacting the medical care for other diseases. The extent to which people with chronic diseases are affected by the suspension of medical services is investigated-differentiating between patient and provider perspectives.

A cross-sectional study was conducted based on data from the longitudinal Hamburg City Health Study (HCHS). The study population was all HCHS participants (a sample of the population of Hamburg, 45-74 years) between April 2020 and November 2021. Utilisation of medical services was collected via the "COVID-19-module" of the HCHS. The chronic conditions included cardiovascular disease, kidney and lung disease, cancer and diabetes mellitus; analyses were descriptive and multivariate.

Of the 2047 participants, 47.9% had at least one previous illness. Of those with pre-existing conditions, 21.4% had at least one healthcare service suspended or an appointment cancelled. In addition, 15.4% stated that they decided by themselves not to attend a doctor's appointment. Specialist care services (43.8% of all cancellations) were cancelled more frequently than general practitioner care (16.6%). After adjustment for age, gender and education, lung disease (OR 1.80; p < 0.008) and cancer (OR 2.33; p < 0.001) were found to be independent risk factors for appointment cancellations by healthcare providers. Of cancellations by patients, 42.2% were due to their fear of an infection with the coronavirus SARS-CoV‑2.

Health policy and the media are faced with the challenge of dealing with fears of infection in the population in such a way that they do not lead to an avoidance of necessary care services.