In:
PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science (PLoS), Vol. 17, No. 10 ( 2022-10-27), p. e0276461-
Abstract:
Healthcare utilization decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, likely due to reduced transmission of infections and healthcare avoidance. Though various investigations have described these changing patterns in children, most have analyzed specific care settings. We compared healthcare utilization, prescriptions, and diagnosis patterns in children across the care continuum during the first year of the pandemic with preceding years. Study design Using national claims data, we compared enrollees under 18 years during the pre-pandemic (January 2016 –mid-March 2020) and pandemic (mid-March 2020 through March 2021) periods. The pandemic was further divided into early (mid-March through mid-June 2020) and middle (mid-June 2020 through March 2021) periods. Utilization was compared using interrupted time series. Results The mean number of pediatric enrollees/month was 2,519,755 in the pre-pandemic and 2,428,912 in the pandemic period. Utilization decreased across all settings in the early pandemic, with the greatest decrease (76.9%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 72.6–80.5%) seen for urgent care visits. Only well visits returned to pre-pandemic rates during the mid-pandemic. Hospitalizations decreased by 43% (95% CI 37.4–48.1) during the early pandemic and were still 26.6% (17.7–34.6) lower mid-pandemic. However, hospitalizations in non-psychiatric facilities for various mental health disorders increased substantially mid-pandemic. Conclusion Healthcare utilization in children dropped substantially during the first year of the pandemic, with a shift away from infectious diseases and a spike in mental health hospitalizations. These findings are important to characterize as we monitor the health of children, can be used to inform healthcare strategies during subsequent COVID-19 surges and/or future pandemics, and may help identify training gaps for pediatric trainees. Subsequent investigations should examine how changes in healthcare utilization impacted the incidence and outcomes of specific diseases.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
1932-6203
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0276461
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0276461.g001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0276461.g002
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0276461.g003
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0276461.g004
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0276461.t001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0276461.s001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0276461.s002
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0276461.s003
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0276461.s004
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0276461.r001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0276461.r002
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0276461.r003
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0276461.r004
Language:
English
Publisher:
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Publication Date:
2022
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2267670-3
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