Canadian Healthcare Access in Parkinson’s Disease and COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Survey

• Published in: Canadian journal of neurological sciences 2024-07, Vol.51 (4), p.503-508
• Main Authors: McKeown, Monica D., Crighton, Eric, Mestre, Tiago A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Canada - epidemiology; Confidence; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Health care access; Health Services Accessibility; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Missing data; Original Article; Pandemics; Parkinson Disease - epidemiology; Parkinson Disease - therapy; Patient Satisfaction; Quality of life; Questionnaires; Surveys and Questionnaires; Telemedicine
• ISSN: 0317-1671; 2057-0155
• DOI: 10.1017/cjn.2023.275

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common chronic neurodegenerative condition. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare provision faced challenges worldwide. We aimed to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic changed healthcare experiences for people living with Parkinson's disease (PwP) in Canada. We conducted a national cross-sectional online survey about healthcare access for PwP in 2020. Participants (n = 298) were recruited through Parkinson Canada, the national patient association and its provincial partners, that advertised the study in a monthly newsletter. We used descriptive statistics and multivariate regression modelling to test associations of interest. A P < 0.05 was deemed statistically significant. During the COVID-19 pandemic, PwP reported greater difficulty obtaining PD-related healthcare services and lesser satisfaction with healthcare provision compared to pre-pandemic experiences. Dissatisfaction with care was associated with the presence of barriers to access services, a lack of confidence in accessing services remotely, pre-pandemic care dissatisfaction, and difficulty in obtaining care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unmet care needs were associated with a lack of confidence in accessing services remotely, dissatisfaction with pre-pandemic care, difficulty obtaining pre-pandemic care, and communication challenges. Our results suggest that healthcare experiences for PwP significantly changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, with challenges in access to virtual care. Poorer pre-pandemic care experiences were amplified during the pandemic.