In fall of 2020, 25 percent of Canadians between the age of 45 and 85 had challenges accessing health-care services during the first nine months of the COVID-19 pandemic, and 8 percent of those studied did not go to a hospital or see a doctor when needed, according to a new study.
“Substantial unmet health care needs were reported by Canadian adults during the first year of the pandemic. The results of this study have important implications for health equity,” said the study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) on Feb. 14.
Titled “Unmet health care needs during the COVID-19 pandemic among adults: a prospective cohort study in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging,” the study considered 23,972 individuals who had participated in a study on aging conducted between April and December of 2020, and surveyed the individuals about their health-care experiences from September to December 2020….