Problems faced by patients and health service utilization experiences of gastrointestinal patients during lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic undermined the health service delivery and utilization of essential health care services globally. The current study therefore aimed to explore the health-seeking behaviors and challenges faced by patients for the management of gastrointestinal diseases.
 Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the outpatient department of Gastroenterology, Liaquat National Hospital, Karachi from March 2020 to July 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown phase to explore patient experiences. Data was collected using a survey questionnaire. All patients of either gender were included after informed consent. Statistical analysis of the data was conducted using SPSS 21.0.
 Results: A total of 184 patients were included who visited the hospital to seek medical services during the COVID-19 lockdown phase. The mean age of the population was 42.7 years (±16.13). Of these, n=94 (51.1%) were males All patients had gastrointestinal issues with different comorbid conditions. One forty-seven n=147 (79.9%) presented with active complaints whereas, n=37 (20.1%) patients visited the hospital for their follow-up checkup. Out of 184 patients, n=33 (17.9%) patients reported of having fear of visiting hospital due to COVID-19 outbreak. A statistically significant difference p<0.001 was noted between the history of comorbidities and patient delaying a visit to the healthcare due to the fear of COVID-19. Additionally, 61 (73.5%) patients with co-morbidity faced difficulty in finding public transport (p=0.01). Nevertheless, n=171 (93.0%) patients expressed satisfaction with the services provided by the hospital during the lockdown phase.
 Conclusion: Patients with gastrointestinal conditions were largely affected by lockdown largely due to fear of contacting COVID-19 disease and inaccessibility to the public transportation. Widely available telemedicine service might overcome these shortcomings and ensure continuity of quality care.
 doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.3.4799
 How to cite this:Kalwar HA, Kamani L. Problems faced by patients and health service utilization experiences of gastrointestinal patients during lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic. Pak J Med Sci. 2022;38(3):---------. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.3.4799
 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Fatigue, Anxiety and Depression due to the Challenges faced by Patients undergoing Hemodialysis and their Caregivers during Covid-19 Pandemic

“…It is also being reported that during Covid-19 pandemic patients while visiting the hospitals were facing different challenges and problems which caused anxiety in them. 54 As the results of current study also shows that fatigue, anxiety and depression were highly prevalent among those patients who were facing the additional burden while visiting the hospital, increased isolation and fear of getting Covid-19 due to high risk condition and close proximity of the other patients in dialysis unit. Same was reported in a another study that patients undergoing hemodialysis had to face several challenges during Covid-19 pandemic.…”