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Healthcare visits for new neurodevelopmental problems before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted healthcare delivery. We hypothesized that children with neurodevelopmental problems would have reduced healthcare utilization during the pandemic compared to before the pandemic.

Methods

We conducted a population-based study of healthcare visits for new neurodevelopmental problems among children ages 0–6 years in Ontario, Canada. Our outcome measure was rate per 1000 children-months for healthcare visits for new neurodevelopmental problems. We compared changes in monthly rates before and during the pandemic using interrupted time series analysis (ITSA).

Results

The rate of new neurodevelopmental problems before the pandemic was 6.31 per 1000 children-months and during the pandemic was 6.58 per 1000 children-months. However, using ITSA, there were no differences in monthly rates of healthcare visits for new neurodevelopmental problems before and during the pandemic. The observed rate during the first 30 days of the pandemic dropped to 3.40 per 1000 children-months.

Conclusion

We found no significant difference in rates of healthcare visits for new neurodevelopmental problems before and during the pandemic. There was a decrease in the number of visits during the first 30 days of the pandemic compared to all months prior.

Impact

  • This study found no significant difference in rates of healthcare visits for new neurodevelopmental problems before and during the pandemic.

  • There was a decrease in the number of visits during the first 30 days of the pandemic compared to all months prior.

  • This study adds information on healthcare access for children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • The rapid deployment of virtual healthcare delivery in Ontario, Canada may explain the fast recovery of healthcare utilization for children with neurodevelopmental problems.

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Fig. 1: New neurodevelopment problem rates (per 1000 children-months) in Ontario for the pre-pandemic period (March 14, 2015 to March 13, 2020) and during-pandemic period (March 14, 2020, to November 30, 2022).

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Acknowledgements

This study contracted ICES Data & Analytic Services (DAS) and used de-identified data from the ICES Data Repository, which is managed by ICES with support from its funders and partners: Canada’s Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR), the Ontario SPOR Support Unit, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Government of Ontario. The opinions, results, and conclusions reported are those of the authors.

Funding

The authors did not receive funding for this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Women and Children’s Health Program, St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Sloane J. Freeman, Thivia Jegathesan & Michael D. Sgro

  2. MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Sloane J. Freeman, Rosane Nisenbaum & Michael D. Sgro

  3. Applied Health Research Centre, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Rosane Nisenbaum

  4. Division of Biostatistics, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

    Rosane Nisenbaum

  5. Joint Centre for Bioethics, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Thivia Jegathesan

  6. Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

    Michael D. Sgro

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  1. Sloane J. Freeman
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  2. Rosane Nisenbaum
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  3. Thivia Jegathesan
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Contributions

Dr. Sloane Freeman: significant contributions to design, and interpretation; data analysis, and interpretation; drafting the manuscript, critically editing the manuscript for key intellectual content; and approving the final version to be published. Dr. Rosane Nisenbaum: significant contributions to design, analysis, and interpretation; drafting the manuscript, critically editing the manuscript for key intellectual content; and approving the final version to be published. Dr. Thivia Jegathesan: significant contributions to design, and interpretation; data analysis, and interpretation; drafting the manuscript, critically editing the manuscript for key intellectual content; and approving the final version to be published. Dr. Michael Sgro: significant contributions to design, and interpretation; data analysis, and interpretation; drafting the manuscript, critically editing the manuscript for key intellectual content; and approving the final version to be published.

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Sloane J. Freeman.

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Freeman, S.J., Nisenbaum, R., Jegathesan, T. et al. Healthcare visits for new neurodevelopmental problems before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pediatr Res (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-024-03279-0

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  • Received: 12 February 2024

  • Revised: 11 April 2024

  • Accepted: 06 May 2024

  • Published: 25 May 2024

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-024-03279-0

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