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Shahin Soltani 1 Article
The COVID-19 pandemic and healthcare utilization in Iran: evidence from an interrupted time series analysis
Monireh Mahmoodpour-Azari, Satar Rezaei, Nasim Badiee, Mohammad Hajizadeh, Ali Mohammadi, Ali Kazemi-Karyani, Shahin Soltani, Mehdi Khezeli
Osong Public Health Res Perspect. 2023;14(3):180-187.   Published online June 22, 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24171/j.phrp.2023.0041
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  • 1 Web of Science
  • 3 Crossref
Graphical AbstractGraphical Abstract AbstractAbstract PDF
Objectives
This study aimed to examine the effect of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak on the hospitalization rate, emergency department (ED) visits, and outpatient clinic visits in western Iran.
Methods
We collected data on the monthly hospitalization rate, rate of patients referred to the ED, and rate of patients referred to outpatient clinics for a period of 40 months (23 months before and 17 months after the COVID-19 outbreak in Iran) from all 7 public hospitals in the city of Kermanshah. An interrupted time series analysis was conducted to examine the impact of COVID-19 on the outcome variables in this study.
Results
A statistically significant decrease of 38.11 hospitalizations per 10,000 population (95% confidence interval [CI], 24.93–51.29) was observed in the first month of the COVID-19 outbreak. The corresponding reductions in ED visits and outpatient visits per 10,000 population were 191.65 (95% CI, 166.63–216.66) and 168.57 (95% CI, 126.41–210.73), respectively. After the initial reduction, significant monthly increases in the hospitalization rate (an increase of 1.81 per 10,000 population), ED visits (an increase of 2.16 per 10,000 population), and outpatient clinic visits (an increase of 5.77 per 10,000 population) were observed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conclusion
Our study showed that the utilization of outpatient and inpatient services in hospitals and clinics significantly declined after the COVID-19 outbreak, and use of these services did not return to pre-outbreak levels as of June 2021.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by  
  • The strongest predictors of compliance with health protocols among marketers and guilds based on the transtheoretical model
    Shandiz Moslehi, Asghar Tavan, Sajjad Narimani, Fardin shahbazzadeh, Nadia Sedri, Sama Sabahi
    BMC Public Health.2024;[Epub]     CrossRef
  • Time series analysis of COVID-19's impact on physician and dentist visits in Iran
    Satar Rezaei, Hesam Ghiasvand, Heather Brown
    Scientific Reports.2024;[Epub]     CrossRef
  • A tale of two times: an exploration of healthcare utilization patterns before and during COVID-19 in Iran
    Satar Rezaei, Masoud Mohammadnezhad
    BMC Public Health.2024;[Epub]     CrossRef

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