Impact of the COVID-19 and Socioeconomic Status on Access to Care for Otorhinolaryngology Patients

Minju Kim, Jin-A Park, Hyunkyung Cha, Woo Hyun Lee, Seung-No Hong () and Dae Woo Kim
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Minju Kim: Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Boramae Medical Center, Seoul 07061, Korea
Jin-A Park: Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Boramae Medical Center, Seoul 07061, Korea
Hyunkyung Cha: Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Boramae Medical Center, Seoul 07061, Korea
Woo Hyun Lee: Department of Otolaryngology, Kangwon National University Hospital, College of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24289, Korea
Seung-No Hong: Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Boramae Medical Center, Seoul 07061, Korea
Dae Woo Kim: Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Boramae Medical Center, Seoul 07061, Korea

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 19, 1-8

Abstract: Since December 2019, COVID-19 has greatly influenced public healthcare systems around the globe in various aspects, including limitation of healthcare accessibility due to lack of both human and financial resources, suspension of clinics, and fear of infection causing healthcare avoidance. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on access to healthcare for otorhinolaryngology patients from different socioeconomic status (SES) groups. Otorhinolaryngology patients’ disease severity status, diagnosed at the first hospital visit, was investigated during the pre -and post-COVID-19 pandemic era in a single medical center located in Seoul, Korea. An ordinal regression model was used to assess the impact of both SES and the COVID-19 pandemic on otorhinolaryngology diseases. Within the chronic rhinosinusitis group, lower SES was associated with a higher disease severity at the first visit compared to higher SES (OR = 3.25). During the COVID-19 pandemic, while the total number of outpatients was reduced, the severity of these ENT diseases seemed to increase compared to the pre-pandemic severity in every SES group. Our study demonstrates the negative impact a worldwide pandemic can have on healthcare inequity and disease severity, and highlights the importance of re-allocating fundamental resources for those in need during periods of public health crisis.

Keywords: COVID-19; healthcare disparities; health services accessibility; socioeconomic status; otolaryngology; health insurance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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