Changes in the Comprehensiveness of Rural Medical Care for Older Japanese Patients during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Ryuichi Ohta, Akinori Ueno and Chiaki Sano
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Ryuichi Ohta: Community Care, Unnan City Hospital, Daito-cho Iida, Unnan 699-1221, Japan
Akinori Ueno: Unnan Public Health Center, Unnan 699-1311, Japan
Chiaki Sano: Department of Community Medicine Management, Faculty of Medicine, Shimane University, Enya-cho, Izumo 693-8501, Japan

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 20, 1-9

Abstract: Help-seeking behaviors (HSBs) refer to how people use lay and medical care to address their symptoms and diseases. The COVID-19 pandemic may have changed older, rural patients’ preferences and experiences regarding HSBs, thereby, affecting the comprehensiveness of medical support for communities. This study identified changes in the comprehensiveness of medical care for older, rural patients, who are often dependent on others for accessing medical services. This observational study was performed with patients who lived in Unnan City. Patients’ dependency and changes in comprehensiveness of medical services were assessed and calculated. The total usage of medical care decreased from 2018 to 2020 at all medical care levels. The proportion of patients who received comprehensive care was higher in 2020 than in 2018, at all care levels. At care dependent levels 3 to 5, the differences in the proportions were statistically significant. This study illustrates an association between the COVID-19 pandemic and the proportion of comprehensiveness of medical care among older rural patients with a decrease in medical care usage. Moreover, an improved proportion of comprehensiveness of medical care leads to appropriate HSBs. Going forward, HSBs and patient-centered care should be promoted by policy makers.

Keywords: dependency; comprehensiveness; multimorbidity; rural medicine (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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