Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Patient consultations during SARS-CoV-2 pandemic : a mixed-method cross-sectional study in 16 European countries

Petrazzuoli, Ferdinando LU orcid ; Gokdemir, Ozden ; Antonopoulou, Maria ; Blahova, Beata ; Mrduljaš-Đujić, Natasa ; Dumitra, Gindrovel ; Falanga, Rosario ; Ferreira, Mercedes ; Gintere, Sandra and Hatipoglu, Sehnaz , et al. (2022) In Rural and Remote Health 22(4). p.7196-7196
Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Remote consultations help reduce contact between people and prevent cross-contamination. Little is known about the changes in consultation in European rural primary care during the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic. The purpose of this mixed-methods cross-sectional study was to find out more about the effects of the pandemic on changes in patient consultations in European rural primary care. METHODS: A key informant survey from 16 member countries of the European Rural and Isolated Practitioners Association (EURIPA) was undertaken using a self-developed questionnaire. The steering committee of this project, called EURIPA Covid-19 study, developed a semi-structured questionnaire with 68 questions, 21 of which included... (More)

INTRODUCTION: Remote consultations help reduce contact between people and prevent cross-contamination. Little is known about the changes in consultation in European rural primary care during the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic. The purpose of this mixed-methods cross-sectional study was to find out more about the effects of the pandemic on changes in patient consultations in European rural primary care. METHODS: A key informant survey from 16 member countries of the European Rural and Isolated Practitioners Association (EURIPA) was undertaken using a self-developed questionnaire. The steering committee of this project, called EURIPA Covid-19 study, developed a semi-structured questionnaire with 68 questions, 21 of which included free-text comments. Proportions were calculated for dichotomized or categorized data, and means were calculated for continuous data. Multivariate analysis by logistic regression model was used to assess the association of multiple variables. RESULTS: A total of 406 questionnaires from primary care providers (PCPs) in 16 European countries were collected; 245 respondents (60.5%) were females, 152 PCPs were rural (37.5%), 124 semi-rural (30.5%). Mean age of the respondents was 45.9 years (standard deviation (SD) 11.30) while mean seniority (length of experience) was 18.2 years (SD 11.6). A total of 381 (93.8%) respondents were medical doctors. Significant differences were found between countries in adopting alternative arrangements to face-to-face consultation: remote teleconsultation is well appreciated by both healthcare professionals and patients, but the most common way of remote consultation remains telephone consultation. A factor significantly inversely associated with the adoption of video consultation was the seniority of the PCP (odds ratio 1.19, 95% confidence interval 1.02-1.40, p=0.03). CONCLUSION: Telephone consultation is the most common form of remote consultation. The adoption of video-consultation is inversely related to the seniority of the informants.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and , et al. (More)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and (Less)
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
consultation, COVID-19, primary care, telemedicine, telephone consultation, access to care
in
Rural and Remote Health
volume
22
issue
4
pages
1 pages
publisher
Deakin University
external identifiers
  • pmid:36260933
  • scopus:85140415868
ISSN
1445-6354
DOI
10.22605/RRH7196
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
c89666db-79bc-4867-b5b9-1f6577d1505d
date added to LUP
2022-12-14 13:24:01
date last changed
2024-04-14 10:13:27
@article{c89666db-79bc-4867-b5b9-1f6577d1505d,
  abstract     = {{<p>INTRODUCTION: Remote consultations help reduce contact between people and prevent cross-contamination. Little is known about the changes in consultation in European rural primary care during the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic. The purpose of this mixed-methods cross-sectional study was to find out more about the effects of the pandemic on changes in patient consultations in European rural primary care. METHODS: A key informant survey from 16 member countries of the European Rural and Isolated Practitioners Association (EURIPA) was undertaken using a self-developed questionnaire. The steering committee of this project, called EURIPA Covid-19 study, developed a semi-structured questionnaire with 68 questions, 21 of which included free-text comments. Proportions were calculated for dichotomized or categorized data, and means were calculated for continuous data. Multivariate analysis by logistic regression model was used to assess the association of multiple variables. RESULTS: A total of 406 questionnaires from primary care providers (PCPs) in 16 European countries were collected; 245 respondents (60.5%) were females, 152 PCPs were rural (37.5%), 124 semi-rural (30.5%). Mean age of the respondents was 45.9 years (standard deviation (SD) 11.30) while mean seniority (length of experience) was 18.2 years (SD 11.6). A total of 381 (93.8%) respondents were medical doctors. Significant differences were found between countries in adopting alternative arrangements to face-to-face consultation: remote teleconsultation is well appreciated by both healthcare professionals and patients, but the most common way of remote consultation remains telephone consultation. A factor significantly inversely associated with the adoption of video consultation was the seniority of the PCP (odds ratio 1.19, 95% confidence interval 1.02-1.40, p=0.03). CONCLUSION: Telephone consultation is the most common form of remote consultation. The adoption of video-consultation is inversely related to the seniority of the informants.</p>}},
  author       = {{Petrazzuoli, Ferdinando and Gokdemir, Ozden and Antonopoulou, Maria and Blahova, Beata and Mrduljaš-Đujić, Natasa and Dumitra, Gindrovel and Falanga, Rosario and Ferreira, Mercedes and Gintere, Sandra and Hatipoglu, Sehnaz and Jacquet, Jean Pierre and Javorská, Kateřina and Kareli, Ana and Mohos, András and Naimer, Sody and Tkachenko, Victoria and Tomacinschii, Angela and Randall-Smith, Jane and Kurpas, Donata}},
  issn         = {{1445-6354}},
  keywords     = {{consultation; COVID-19; primary care; telemedicine; telephone consultation; access to care}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{4}},
  pages        = {{7196--7196}},
  publisher    = {{Deakin University}},
  series       = {{Rural and Remote Health}},
  title        = {{Patient consultations during SARS-CoV-2 pandemic : a mixed-method cross-sectional study in 16 European countries}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.22605/RRH7196}},
  doi          = {{10.22605/RRH7196}},
  volume       = {{22}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}