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Effect of the COVID-19 on Perceptions of Health, Anticipated Need for Health Services, and Cost of Health Care

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 June 2021

Natalia Rekhter Open the ORCID record for Natalia Rekhter [Opens in a new window]  and
Natalia Ermasova
Natalia Rekhter*
Affiliation:
Health Administration Department, College of Health and Human Services, Governors State University, University Park, Illinois USA
Natalia Ermasova
Affiliation:
Public Policy and Administration Unit, College of Arts and Sciences, Governors State University, University Park, Illinois USA
*
Corresponding author: Natalia Rekhter, Email: [email protected].
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Abstract

Objective:

This article investigates how perceived vulnerability to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic at its early stages is associated with people’s perception of their health, the need for health-care services, and expenses related to addressing the COVID-19 impact on their health.

Methods:

The results are based on the analysis of surveys that were distributed among members of 26 random Facebook groups in April-May, 2020. Perceived COVID-19 pandemic related stress and health concerns were examined by using the analysis of variance (ANOVA) test.

Results:

Among 315 respondents, 64% have experienced COVID-19 related stress and identified anxiety, headache, insomnia, and weight gain as their primary health concerns. The ANOVA test revealed that females are more impacted by the COVID-19 stress than males. Around 40% of respondents believed that the COVID-19 would lead to an increase in the cost of health services, and 20% of respondents anticipated that the COVID-19 pandemic would increase their need for health services.

Conclusions:

Learning about how people perceive the COVID-19 pandemic impact on their health, particularly in the pandemic’s early stages can allow health professionals to develop targeted interventions that can influence pandemic preventative behaviors among different population groups. This study can help understand use patterns and mitigate financial barriers that could interfere with patients’ care-seeking behavior.

Keywords

perceived stressCOVID-19 pandemichealth concernshealthcare serviceshealthcare access; healthcare cost
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 16 , Issue 6 , December 2022 , pp. 2539 - 2545
Copyright
© Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2021

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