Continuing to utilize healthcare as needed during an epidemic outbreak is significant, in general, and especially for cancer patients. Therefore, this study aimed to explore factors associated with health services utilization among breast cancer patients during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak.

A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 151 women with breast cancer. Participants completed measures of perceived health status, perceived susceptibility to COVID-19, anxiety, coping resources, health services utilization (contact with healthcare professionals and cancellation of an appointment to the oncology/hematology clinic), and socio-demographic questionnaires. A multiple hierarchical regression was calculated; contact with healthcare professionals was the dependent variable. In addition, a logistic regression was calculated; cancellation of an appointment to the oncology/hematology clinic because of the COVID-19 was the dependent variable.

Breast cancer patients’ contact with healthcare professionals was lower than their contact prior to the pandemic. A higher extent of contact with healthcare professionals was related to patients’ perception of health as bad/reasonable, lower perceived susceptibility, a lower sense of mastery, and higher social support. In addition, the odds of cancelling an appointment to the oncology/hematology clinic were higher in the presence of additional chronic illnesses and a higher sense of mastery.

The results could provide public health agencies with a more complete picture of the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic among breast cancer patients. This is significant because, in the event that COVID-19 re-emerges, the findings of the current study could help guide public health officials and possibly prevent the future avoidance of health services’ use among this high-risk population.

To determine the extent of service disruption among home health agencies impacted by Hurricane Harvey.

Structured interviews with optional open-ended questions were conducted with home health agencies in and around Houston, Texas. A random sample of 277 agencies was selected and contacted via telephone during the study period, from February to May of 2018.

Only 45% of 122 participating agencies indicated that their offices were open during Hurricane Harvey, and three-fourths reported that home visits were disrupted. The length of disruption varied: 7% reported a disruption of 1 day or less and 46% indicated a disruption of 1 week or longer. Disruption occurred even though nearly all (99%) of the agencies had—and close to all (92%) of them activated—an emergency preparedness plan.

Although most of the participating home health agencies activated their emergency preparedness plan, significant disruption in home health services occurred. While agencies are required to have clear, detailed plans in place, gaps in effective implementation of emergency preparedness plans remain.

In this investigation, we reported the increase in emergency department and inpatient admission cases during the month of November 2012 post Hurricane Sandy as compared with baseline (November 2010, 2011, and 2013) for elderly patients aged 65 and up.

Medical claims data for patients aged 65 and over treated at emergency department and inpatient health care facilities in New Jersey were analyzed to examine the surge in frequencies of diagnoses treated immediately following Hurricane Sandy. The differences were quantified using gap analysis for 2 years before and 1 year after the event.

There was an average increase of 1700 cases for the month of November 2012 relative to baseline for the top 15 most frequently diagnosed emergency department medical conditions. On a daily basis, a volume increase by an average 57 cases could be expected, including significant numbers of limb fractures and other trauma cases for these most frequently encountered medical conditions.

Understanding the surge level in medical services needed in emergency departments and inpatient facilities during a natural disaster aftermath is critical for effective emergency preparation and response for the elderly population. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:730-738)

Low utilization of health and nutrition services is a major setback to the attainment of ultimate health of many populations in developing countries including Ghana. Primary health care (PHC) forms the basis for the provision of good quality and sustainable health care and making it accessible to the majority of the population. In line with this, the Catholic Relief Services spearheaded a Development Assistance Programme for the 2004–08 financial year in the northern sector of Ghana. The primary beneficiaries were children in their early years and pregnant and lactating women. The main aim of the evaluation was to assess the extent to which the programme objectives were achieved. This paper highlights the innovative processes used to improve access to and utilization of key health and nutrition services and their impact on the health of children and women.

A pre-test/post-test design involving two cross-sectional surveys at baseline and follow-up surveys were used to determine the outcome/impact of the programme.

The study findings show that the programme reduced chronic malnutrition by 1.5 percentage points/year in participating communities. The programme also empowered individuals and communities to adopt positive health behaviours (empowerment defined here as the ability to act in one’s own interest). Furthermore, the programme provided facilities and logistics, which increased access to health and nutrition services, improved the quality of health services and strengthened the institutional capacity of District Health Management teams to plan for and manage health activities.

The programme showed improvement over time in terms of health-seeking behaviours, practices and coverage of health and nutrition services from the baseline levels. If similar programme activities are put in place, the nutrition-related millennium development goals are most likely to be met.

As part of a replication study after the randomized controlled trial (RCTs) in the Netherlands, the impact was assessed on health services utilization and expenditure of two self-management programmes for older adults with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee and hip.

Evidence-based patient education and exercise programmes, developed and tested in RCTs, are often insufficiently diffused among practitioners and primary healthcare providers and tend to have a modest reach in the population. Large-scale adoption in primary healthcare can be improved if programmes are feasible and effective in real life.

The programmes were conducted in real-life conditions by primary healthcare providers (local health centres, home-care providers, physical therapy centres). Pre-test/post-test data were collected for consultation of the general practitioner (GP), medical specialist, physical therapist, and for the use of OA medication, as well as for the expenditure for physical therapy and OA medication.

In total, 20 Knee and 20 Hip programmes were carried out by 18 providers. The Knee programmes were attended by 204 participants and the Hip programmes by 169 participants. Physical therapy and use of OA medication for both programmes and consultation of the medical specialist for the Hip programme decreased. No effect was observed for consultations of the GP. Expenditure for physical therapy and use of OA medication could not be assessed, due to difficulties to obtain sufficient reliable data from participating health insurers. Both programmes produced similar outcomes in real-life conditions compared to their RCTs. The implications are discussed as to accurate data collection on OA expenditure, future cost-utility and cost-effectiveness studies, and the large-scale implementation of the programmes in the Dutch primary healthcare system.