scholarly journals Impact of COVID-19 on healthcare access for Australian adolescents and young adults

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Irteja Islam ◽  
Joseph Freeman ◽  
Verity Chadwick ◽  
Alexandra Martiniuk
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Healthcare Access ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Adolescents And Young Adults ◽  
Common Reason ◽  
First Year ◽  
List Type ◽  
Factors Associated

ABSTRACTBackgroundAccess to healthcare for young people is essential to build the foundation for a healthy life. We investigated the factors associated with healthcare access by Australian young adults during and before the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsWe included 1110 youths using two recent data collection waves from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). Data were collected during COVID-19 in 2020 for Wave 9C1 and before COVID-19 in 2018 for Wave 8. The primary outcome for this study was healthcare access. Both bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were employed to identify the factors associated with reluctance to access healthcare services during COVID-19 and pre-COVID-19 times.ResultsAmong respondents, 39.6% avoided seeking health services during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic when they needed them, which was similar to pre-COVID-19 times (41.4%). The factors most strongly impacting upon reluctance and/or barriers to healthcare access during COVID-19 were any illness or disability, and high psychological distress. In comparison, prior to the pandemic the factors which were significantly impeding healthcare access were country of birth, state of residence, presence of any pre-existing condition and psychological distress. The most common reason reported (55.9%) for avoided seeking care was that they thought the problem would go away.ConclusionsA significant proportion of youths did not seek care when they felt they needed to seek care, both during and before the COVID-19 pandemic.What is known about the subject?Some adolescents and young adults do not access healthcare when they need it.Healthcare access and barriers to access is best understood through a multi-system lens including policy, organisational, and individual-level factors. For instance, policy barriers (such as cost), organisational barriers (such as transportation, or difficulty accessing a timely appointment) and individual barriers (such as experiences, knowledge or beliefs).Barriers to care may differ for sub-groups e.g. ruralDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, public health restrictions including the stricter “lockdowns” have reduced healthcare access. The burden of cases upon the healthcare system has further reduced healthcare access.What this study adds?A significant proportion of youth did not seek healthcare when they felt they needed to seek care, both before (41.4%) and during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic (39.6%)Youth with a disability or chronic condition, asthma and/or psychological distress were more likely to avoid accessing healthcare during COVID-19 times.The most common reason for not seeking healthcare when it was felt to be needed was because the youth thought the problem would go away (pre-COVID-19 35.7% of the sample versus during the first year of COVID-19 55.9%)During the coronavirus restriction period (“lockdown”) the most common reason for not seeking healthcare when it was felt to be needed was because the youth did not want to visit a doctor during lockdown (21.8%) with the next most common reason being because telehealth was the only appointment option available at the time (8.4%)

scholarly journals Factors Associated with Non-Attendance at Dental Preventive Care in Slovak High School Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 1295
Author(s):  
Martin Samohyl ◽  
Jana Babjakova ◽  
Diana Vondrova ◽  
Jana Jurkovicova ◽  
Juraj Stofko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Preventive Care ◽  
Parental Influence ◽  
Adolescents And Young Adults ◽  
Control Group ◽  
School Students ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Older Adolescents

This study aimed to determine the factors associated with the avoidance of dental preventive care in high school students and their parents in the framework of The Youth and Parents Risk Factor Behavior Survey in Slovakia, the ongoing cross-sectional school-based survey of students and their parents or legal representatives. The data were collected using two separate standardized questionnaires: (i) the questionnaire for students (n = 515) and (ii) the questionnaire for parents (n = 681). The study group included 57 high school students (54.4% males) who did not visit the dentist for preventive care in the previous year. The control group included 458 students (35.8% males) who visited a dentist for preventive care at least once in the previous year. A significantly higher number of males (54.4%), older adolescents, and young adults (21.8%; 20.0%) were not visiting dental preventive care regularly. Incomplete family (56.1%), stressful situations at home (17.5%), and feeling unwell were the factors contributing to the avoidance of dental preventive care. More than 34.5% of adolescents and young adults were not visiting either dental preventive care or pediatric preventive care (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 5.14; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.40, 10.99). Children of divorced mothers and mothers with household income lower than EUR 900 had significantly higher dental care avoidance in bivariate analysis. A significantly higher percentage of fathers from the exposed group were not visiting dental preventive care regularly (47.8%, p < 0.05). The results of the study can be used as an educational intervention step focusing on the parental influence on adolescent and young adults’ behavior and as a challenge for the improvement of dental preventive care in older adolescents and young adults.

scholarly journals Use of illicit drugs by adolescents and young adults of an urban settlement in Brazil

2018 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 114-118
Author(s):  
Rafael Alves Guimarães ◽  
Márcia Maria de Souza ◽  
Karlla Antonieta Amorim Caetano ◽  
Sheila Araujo Teles ◽  
Marcos André de Matos
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Drug Use ◽  
Illicit Drugs ◽  
Illicit Drug ◽  
Illicit Drug Use ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Adolescents And Young Adults ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Urban Settlement ◽  
Factors Associated

Summary Objective: To estimate the prevalence and factors associated with illicit drug use by adolescents and young adults of a formal urban settlement. Method: Cross-sectional study including adolescents and young adults 12-24 years of an urban settlement in the Midwest Region of Brazil. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using Stata, version 12.0. We used Poisson regression model to estimate the factors associated with illicit drug use. Results: Of the total participants (n=105), 27.6% (95CI 20.0-36.9%) had used illicit drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, crack, LSD and inhalants. The consumption of these substances was associated with male gender, use of body piercing and/or tattoos, licit drug use and self-report of signs and/or symptoms of sexually transmitted infections. Conclusion: High prevalence of illicit drug use was found in the individuals investigated, ratifying the presence of risk factors to the vulnerability of the settlers to use these substances in the urban settlement population.

scholarly journals Factors associated with sexual orientation and gender disparities in chronic pain among U.S. adolescents and young adults

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 765-772 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabra L. Katz-Wise ◽  
Bethany Everett ◽  
Emily A. Scherer ◽  
Holly Gooding ◽  
Carly E. Milliren ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Gender Disparities ◽  
Adolescents And Young Adults ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
And Gender

Providing Patient Centered Care for Adolescents with Chronic Conditions

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-29
Author(s):  
Nabeel Al-Yateem
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Transition Process ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Adolescents And Young Adults ◽  
Study Phase ◽  
Patient Centered ◽  
Centered Care ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Depth Interviews

Background: It is well acknowledged that clear, structured healthcare services that are mutually developed between the patient and the healthcare professionals are likely to be of high quality, desirable, and effective. Such service should address the complexity of the illness-health experience in terms of the factors that influence it as well as the physical and psychosocial consequences on the patient. The required focus should be on treating the patient rather than just treating the disease.Objectives: To develop relevant and feasible care guidelines that may inform more competent and patient centered services for adolescents and young adults with chronic conditions.Methodology: A sequential exploratory mixed method design guided this study. The first qualitative phase employed in-depth interviews to explore the experiences of adolescents and young adults about the health services they were receiving. This was followed by focus group interviews with healthcare professionals to discuss the patients’ reported needs and to suggest interventions that would address them. Finally, a second quantitative phase was carried out through a survey to explore the views of a larger sample of service stakeholders about the relevance and feasibility of the suggested guidelines for clinical practice.Results: The in-depth interviews revealed four main themes, as follows: a current amorphous service, sharing knowledge, the need to be at the center of service, and easing the transition process to adulthood. The second study phase yielded 32 proposed guidelines that may contribute to more competent and patient centered health care.

scholarly journals Using Friendship Ties to Understand the Prevalence of, and Factors Associated With, Intimate Partner Violence Among Adolescents and Young Adults in Kenya: Cross-Sectional, Respondent-Driven Survey Study

10.2196/19023 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. e19023
Author(s):  
Peter Memiah ◽  
Anne Kamau ◽  
Yvonne Opanga ◽  
Samuel Muhula ◽  
Emmanuel Nyakeriga ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Protective Factors ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Risk And Protective Factors ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Adolescents And Young Adults ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Factors Associated

Background Optimization of innovative approaches is required for estimating the intimate partner violence (IPV) burden among adolescents and young adults (AYA). Further investigation is required to identify risk and protective factors associated with IPV among AYA. There remain significant gaps in understanding these factors among this vulnerable population. Objective The goal of our study was to determine the prevalence of IPV among an urban population of AYA and to identify factors associated with IPV among AYA. Methods A cross-sectional study design utilizing respondent-driven sampling was adopted. The study was conducted among 887 AYA, aged 15 to 24 years, residing in Nairobi, Kenya. Data were collected through a phone-based survey using the REACH (Reaching, Engaging Adolescents and Young Adults for Care Continuum in Health)-AYA app. Questions on behavioral and psychosocial factors were adopted from different standardized questionnaires. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariable statistics were used to describe the characteristics of the study sample. Results Of the 887 participants, a higher proportion were male (540/887, 60.9%) compared to female (347/887, 39.1%). The prevalence of IPV was 22.3% (124/556). IPV was associated with being unsure if it was okay for a boy to hit his girlfriend, living in a home with physical violence or abuse, and being bullied (P=.005). The likelihood of experiencing IPV was higher among respondents whose friends and family members used alcohol (odds ratio [OR] 1.80, 95% CI 1.09-2.98) and among those who had repeated a class at school in the past two years (OR 1.90, 95% CI 1.11-3.23). Respondents who visited a health facility or doctor for reproductive health services were 2 times more likely to experience IPV (OR 2.23, 95% CI 1.40-3.70). Respondents who had used illicit drugs were 2 times more likely to experience IPV (OR 4.31, 95% CI 2.64-7.04). The probability of experiencing IPV decreased by 63% (OR 0.37, 95% CI 0.16-0.85) among respondents who refused to have sex with someone who was not prepared to use a condom. Conclusions IPV remains a significant public health priority because of its impact to society. Our results are in congruence with other similar studies. Efforts toward incorporating appropriate IPV core measures into the comprehensive care package for every AYA seeking health services should be explored. Programs need to address constellations of risk and protective factors linked to IPV in an effort to prevent its occurrence.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document