Healthcare Renunciation During the Confinement Period in Connection With the COVID-19 Epidemic in Adult Emergency Departments

Healthcare renunciation is defined as: "Individuals give up care when they do not seek services and health care professionals when they experience a disorder, experience a physical or mental disorder, or when they do not access all of the prescribed care." In 2008, 16.5% of the general French population reported having renounced care. The causes mentioned of the renunciation are mainly the financial difficulties, the deadlines of appointments considered too long, the geographical remoteness. In the department of Sarthe, the rate of cessation of care is estimated at 27.6% over the period from 2014 to 2017.

In the context of the COVID-19 epidemic, containment was applied in France counted from 17 March 2020. The widespread message was "save lives, stay at home". The Ministry of Solidarity and Health has provided health professionals with a circular to adapt the management of patients with chronic disease, requiring elective surgical care and pregnant women.

The decline in activity of general practitioners is estimated at 44% and that of other specialists at 71%. In Paris, visits to the emergency room fell by 45% for adults and 70% for children.

The main risk is the deterioration of the health status of some patients with the worsening of chronic diseases, the discovery of pathologies during episodes of decompensation and the absence of management of serious acute pathologies.

The study aims to assess the importance of giving up care during this period of COVID-19 and in comparison with a study conducted at the University Hospital of Angers and the hospital of Le Mans in 2017.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Emergency Medicine
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: survey

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 900

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• France
  • Angers, France
    • CHU Angers
  • Le Mans, France
    • CH Le Mans

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Person unable to give a non-opposition

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• All adults patients consulting in the emergency department and agreeing to answer the questionnaire

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patient admitted in the emergency department in serious condition (life distress)
• Person unable to consent

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
rate of patients who gave up consulting in the emergency department	1 day

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University Hospital, Angers

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 8, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 18, 2020
• Study Completion (Actual): September 18, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 6, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 6, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): July 7, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): September 23, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 22, 2020
• Last Verified: July 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Disease Attributes; Emergencies
• Other Study ID Numbers: 49RC20_0155

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No