RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Patient experience of residents with restricted primary care access during the COVID-19 pandemic
JF Family Medicine and Community Health
JO Fam Med Com Health
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP e001667
DO 10.1136/fmch-2022-001667
VO 10
IS 2
A1 Takuya Aoki
A1 Yasuki Fujinuma
A1 Masato Matsushima
YR 2022
UL http://fmch.bmj.com/content/10/2/e001667.abstract
AB Objectives To evaluate primary care access for COVID-19 consultation among residents who have a usual source of care (USC) and to examine their associations with patient experience during the pandemic in Japan.Design Nationwide cross-sectional study.Setting Japanese general adult population.Participants 1004 adult residents who have a USC.Main outcome measures Patient experience assessed by the Japanese version of Primary Care Assessment Tool Short Form (JPCAT-SF).Results A total of 198 (19.7%) reported restricted primary care access for COVID-19 consultation despite having a USC. After adjustment for possible confounders, restricted primary care access for COVID-19 consultation was negatively associated with the JPCAT-SF total score (adjusted mean difference = −8.61, 95% CI −11.11 to −6.10). In addition, restricted primary care access was significantly associated with a decrease in all JPCAT-SF domain scores.Conclusions Approximately one-fifth of adult residents who had a USC reported restricted primary care access for COVID-19 consultation during the pandemic in Japan. Our study also found that restricted primary care access for COVID-19 consultation was negatively associated with a wide range of patient experience including first contact. Material, financial and educational support to primary care facilities, the spread of telemedicine and the application of a patient registration system might be necessary to improve access to primary care during a pandemic.No data are available. Due to the nature of this research, participants of this study did not agree for their data to be shared publicly, so supporting data are not available.