Abstract
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadians experienced barriers that affected their ability and/or willingness to obtain timely healthcare services. Some Canadians experienced problems with scheduling their appointments due to reduced healthcare provision for non-COVID-19 health concerns. Others delayed contacting care as a precaution against COVID-19. The mental health of individuals who faced healthcare barriers is underexplored. This study examined the association of both appointment scheduling problems and delays in contacting healthcare with high self-rated mental health (SRMH) and perceived worsening mental health compared to before the pandemic (PWMH).
This study used cross-sectional data from the Survey on Access to Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals during the Pandemic and restricted the dataset to Canadian adults who reported needing one or more healthcare service during the first year of the pandemic. We fit unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression models to examine the association of each healthcare barrier variable (appointment scheduling problems and delays in contacting healthcare) and each mental health outcome (high SRMH and PWMH). Regressions were subsequently stratified by gender, age group, number of chronic health conditions, and household income tertile.
The findings of this study will be reported in a peer-reviewed publication. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first Canadian study to explore the relationship between healthcare barriers and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results may inform public health initiatives and policies to address healthcare barriers.