| Title: |
Pediatric health service utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic (PedCov) |
| Authors: |
Dey, Michelle; Volken, Thomas; Altwicker-Hámori, Szilvia; Wieber, Frank; Dratva, Julia; von Rhein, Michael; Chaouch, Aziz; Seiler, Michelle; Laasner, Ursula; Sidler, Marc |
| Publisher Information: |
Bundesamt für Gesundheit BAG |
| Publication Year: |
2024 |
| Collection: |
ZHAW digitalcollection (Repository of the Zurich University of Applied Sciences) |
| Subject Terms: |
info:eu-repo/classification/ddc/362; info:eu-repo/classification/ddc/618.92 |
| Description: |
Background: COVID-19 – officially declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11th, 2020 – negatively impacted societies around the world. COVID-19-related mortality and morbidity were heightened in people with certain pre-existing conditions and in the elderly. Although the direct impact of COVID-19 on the mortality and morbidity of children and adolescents was much less severe, it is still conceivable that indirect effects of the pandemic and the introduced measures affected their health negatively. In Switzerland, the government introduced various measures to reduce the likelihood of virus transmission, including a lockdown and restrictions of elective and non-urgent medical care in the early phase of the pandemic. Children up to two years of age were partly exempt from these exceptions and pediatric associations and the Federal Office of Public Health communicated early that 0-2-year-olds should adhere to the regularly scheduled well-child visits and vaccinations. However, before carrying out the present study, it was largely unclear whether caregivers adhered to these recommendations and how pediatric utilization changed as an effect of the pandemic more generally in Switzerland. Aims: The current study aimed to investigate the impact of the pandemic on primary and tertiary health care utilization in children and adolescents and to study factors associated with utilization. The resulting insights were intended to inform policy and practice and to be a sound basis for the formulation of recommendations to address potential current issues regarding the health of young people and to be better prepared for potential future health crises. Methods: Interrupted time series were used to analyze Swiss national health insurance data (primary care: data from SASIS and SWICA were analyzed) and pediatric emergency department data (tertiary care: data from three hospitals were analyzed) from January 2018 – June 2022 in 0-18-year-olds. The first lockdown was used to differentiate between pre-pandemic and ... |
| Document Type: |
report |
| File Description: |
application/pdf |
| Language: |
English |
| Relation: |
https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/handle/11475/33359 |
| DOI: |
10.21256/zhaw-33359 |
| Availability: |
https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-33359; https://www.bag.admin.ch/dam/de/sd-web/61EyswjgR8wr/bericht-pedcov.pdf; https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/handle/11475/33359 |
| Rights: |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess ; Licence according to publishing contract |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.E309AD4B |
| Database: |
BASE |