Repository for the article "Gender disparities in access to care for time-sensitive conditions during COVID-19 pandemic in Chile" (under review)
Authors: Pacheco, Jorge; Crispi, Francisca; Alfaro, Tania; Martínez, María Soledad; Cuadrado, Cristóbal
Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic reduction on the utilisation of healthcare services are reported in different contexts. Nevertheless, studies have not explored specifically gender disparities on access to healthcare. Aim: To evaluate disparities in access to care in Chile during the COVID-19 pandemic from a gender-based perspective. Methods: We conducted a quasi-experimental design using a difference-in-difference approach. We compared the number of weekly confirmed cases of a set of oncologic and cardiovascular time-sensitive conditions at a national level. We defined weeks 12 to 26 as an intervention period and the actual year as a treatment group. We selected this period because preventive interventions, such as school closures or teleworking, were implemented at this point. To test heterogeneity by sex, we included an interaction term between difference-in-difference estimator and sex. Results: A sizable reduction in access to care for patients with time-sensitivity conditions was observed for oncologic (IRR 0·56; 95 CI 0·50-0·63) and cardiovascular diseases (IRR 0·64; 95CI 0·62-0·66). Greater reduction occurred in women compared to men across diseases groups, particularly marked on myocardial infarction (0·89; 95 CI 0·85-0·93), stroke (IRR 0·88 IC95 0·82-0·93), and colorectal cancer (IRR 0·79; 95 CI 0·69-0·91). Compared to men, a greater absolute reduction in women for oncologic diseases (782; 95 CI 704-859) than cardiovascular diseases (172; 95 CI 170-174) occurred over 14 weeks. Conclusion: We confirmed a large drop in new diagnosis for time-sensitive conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic in Chile. This reduction was greater for women. Our findings should alert policy-makers about the urgent need to integrate a gender perspective into the pandemic response and its aftermath.
Pre-print available: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.09.11.20192880v1
For more information on the project MOVID-19 visit: www.movid19.cl
Part of the Coronavirus Impact Monitor: Policy, Access, Control and Transectorial Consequences collaboration (Proyecto ANID-COVID 0960)