Quality of life and healthcare utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic are more restricted in chronically ill than in healthy children: a tertiary care children ’s hospital experience

Conclusion: Our findings underscore the importance of identifying families with chronically ill children as a vulnerable patient group with higher burdens during the COVID-19 pandemic and potential future pandemics. Healthcare providers may mitigate such burdens by ensuring reliable appointment allocation, offering contactless healthcare options, and providing tailored advice regarding vulnerabilities and preventive measures specific to their chronically ill children.What is Known:• The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has led to significant restrictions in everyday life and both accessibility and utilization of healthcare for children and adolescents.• Chronically ill children faced exceptional challenges as they depend on regular and functioning medical care, but data comparing the pandemic’s impact between chronically ill and healthy children are lacking.What is New:• The perceived impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on quality of life is more negative for chronically ill children and their health-related quality of life is more often affected compared to healthy children.• Caregivers of chronically ill children would more often delay a visit to their child’s doctor during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and their medical appointments are more often postponed which both could increase health burdens for such vulnerable patients.
Source: European Journal of Pediatrics - Category: Pediatrics Source Type: research