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ToolsSloan, Melanie, Harwood, Rupert, Gordon, Caroline, Bosley, Michael, Lever, Elliott, Modi, Rakesh, Blane, Moira, Brimicombe, James, Barrere, Colette, Holloway, Lynn, Sutton, Stephen and D'Cruz, David (2022) Will 'the feeling of abandonment' remain? Persisting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on rheumatology patients and clinicians. Rheumatology, 61 (9). pp. 3723-3736. ISSN 1462-0324
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Abstract
Objective: To better understand rheumatology patient and clinician pandemic-related experiences, medical relationships and behaviours in order to help identify the persisting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and inform efforts to ameliorate the negative impacts and build upon the positive ones. Methods: Rheumatology patients and clinicians completed surveys (patients n = 1543, clinicians n = 111) and interviews (patients n = 41, clinicians n = 32) between April 2021 and August 2021. A cohort (n = 139) of systemic autoimmune rheumatic disease patients was also followed up from March 2020 to April 2021. Analyses used sequential mixed methods. Pre-specified outcome measures included the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental wellbeing score (WEMWBS), satisfaction with care and healthcare behaviours. Results: We identified multiple ongoing pandemic-induced/increased barriers to receiving care. The percentage of patients agreeing they were medically supported reduced from 74.4% pre-pandemic to 39.7% during-pandemic. Ratings for medical support, medical security and trust were significantly (P <0.001) positively correlated with patient WEMWBS and healthcare behaviours, and decreased during the pandemic. Healthcare-seeking was reduced, potentially long-Term, including from patients feeling 'abandoned' by clinicians, and a 'burden' from government messaging to protect the NHS. Blame and distrust were frequent, particularly between primary and secondary care, and towards the UK government, who <10% of clinicians felt had supported clinicians during the pandemic. Clinicians' efforts were reported to be impeded by inefficient administration systems and chronic understaffing, suggestive of the pandemic having exposed and exacerbated existing healthcare system weaknesses. Conclusion: Without concerted action-such as rebuilding trust, improved administrative systems and more support for clinicians-barriers to care and negative impacts of the pandemic on trust, medical relationships, medical security and patient help-seeking may persist in the longer term. Trial registration: This study is part of a pre-registered longitudinal multi-stage trial, the LISTEN study (ISRCTN-14966097), with later COVID-related additions registered in March 2021, including a pre-registered statistical analysis plan.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | Data availability statement: Additional anonymised data may be made available on request. Funding: This study was an unfunded addition to the LISTEN study, funded by LUPUS UK. |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | chronic diseases,covid-19 pandemic,healthcare behaviours,healthcare systems,medical security,mental health,nhs,patient-clinician interactions,rheumatology,telemedicine,trust,rheumatology,pharmacology (medical),sdg 3 - good health and well-being ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2700/2745 |
| Faculty \ School: | Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School |
| UEA Research Groups: | Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Public Health |
| Related URLs: | |
| Depositing User: | LivePure Connector |
| Date Deposited: | 09 Sep 2025 08:30 |
| Last Modified: | 09 Sep 2025 08:30 |
| URI: | https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/100328 |
| DOI: | 10.1093/rheumatology/keab937 |
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