Comparing Health Service Reception in Individuals with and Without Non-communicable Diseases Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Shahrekord Cohort Study

The utilization of health services is an opportunity for using health services by the needy. Since COVID-19 can have significant effects on all life dimensions, including the utilization patterns, especially in patients with non-communicable diseases (NCDs), this study aimed to determine and compare the extent of utilizing health services by individuals with and without NCDs in the Shahrekord cohort study before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The present cross-sectional study was conducted on 760 patients of the age group of 35-70 years in the Shahrekord cohort study, which addressed the urban areas of Shahrekord and the rural regions of Ardel city during two separate periods. For all patients, the questionnaire on benefiting from health services was completed. The data was collected using the telephone interview method and then analyzed using SPSS software.

The mean and standard deviation of the age was 44.95±8.65 years in the patients without NCDs  and 53.38±8.60 years in those with NCDs(p<0.001). The rates of medical service reception in those without common NCDs before and during the corona epidemic were 3.2% and 15.3%, respectively. In those with common NCDs, the rates were 7.1% and 27.1%, respectively (p<0.001). During the coronavirus epidemic, the average duration of receiving service, duration of service, paid fee, and the frequency of receiving service were longer in the participants with chronic NCDs (P<0.001).

The reception of medical services and outpatient services in the two groups of patients with and without NCDs during the coronavirus pandemic increased compared to the pre-pandemic period. This point should be considered as a lesson learned from the epidemic by the health system policymakers and planners to lay the grounds for providing care services, especially for chronic patients during epidemics.