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Healthcare visits for new neurodevelopmental problems before and during the COVID-19 pandemic
Sloane J Freeman1,2, Rosane Nisenbaum3,4,5, Thivia Jegathesan6,7
1Women and Children's Health Program, St. Michael's Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. sloane.freeman@unityhealth.to.
Insights
Healthcare visits for new neurodevelopmental problems in children remained stable during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, an initial 30-day drop in utilization was observed at the pandemic's start.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Healthcare
- Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- Public Health
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted healthcare delivery systems globally.
- Concerns arose regarding potential reductions in healthcare utilization for children with pre-existing neurodevelopmental conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate changes in healthcare utilization for new neurodevelopmental problems in young children during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- To compare healthcare visit rates before and during the pandemic using population-based data.
Main Methods:
- A population-based study was conducted in Ontario, Canada, analyzing healthcare visits for new neurodevelopmental problems in children aged 0-6 years.
- Interrupted time series analysis (ITSA) was employed to compare monthly healthcare visit rates before and during the pandemic.
- The primary outcome measure was the rate of healthcare visits per 1000 children-months.
Main Results:
- The overall rate of new neurodevelopmental problems showed no significant difference before (6.31/1000 child-months) and during the pandemic (6.58/1000 child-months).
- Interrupted time series analysis revealed no statistically significant change in monthly healthcare visit rates.
- A notable decrease in healthcare visits was observed during the initial 30 days of the pandemic (3.40/1000 child-months).
Conclusions:
- Healthcare utilization for new neurodevelopmental problems in children remained consistent before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- An initial, temporary decline in healthcare visits occurred at the onset of the pandemic.
- The rapid adoption of virtual healthcare may have facilitated the swift recovery of healthcare access for these children.
Background:
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted healthcare delivery. We hypothesized that children with neurodevelopmental problems would have reduced healthcare utilization during the pandemic compared to before the pandemic.
Methods:
We conducted a population-based study of healthcare visits for new neurodevelopmental problems among children ages 0-6 years in Ontario, Canada. Our outcome measure was rate per 1000 children-months for healthcare visits for new neurodevelopmental problems. We compared changes in monthly rates before and during the pandemic using interrupted time series analysis (ITSA).
Results:
The rate of new neurodevelopmental problems before the pandemic was 6.31 per 1000 children-months and during the pandemic was 6.58 per 1000 children-months. However, using ITSA, there were no differences in monthly rates of healthcare visits for new neurodevelopmental problems before and during the pandemic. The observed rate during the first 30 days of the pandemic dropped to 3.40 per 1000 children-months.
Conclusion:
We found no significant difference in rates of healthcare visits for new neurodevelopmental problems before and during the pandemic. There was a decrease in the number of visits during the first 30 days of the pandemic compared to all months prior.
Impact:
This study found no significant difference in rates of healthcare visits for new neurodevelopmental problems before and during the pandemic. There was a decrease in the number of visits during the first 30 days of the pandemic compared to all months prior. This study adds information on healthcare access for children during the COVID-19 pandemic. The rapid deployment of virtual healthcare delivery in Ontario, Canada may explain the fast recovery of healthcare utilization for children with neurodevelopmental problems.
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