Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health
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Women’s experience of health care access during COVID-19.

Approved: 2020

Collaborators:

  • Prof Julie Byles
  • Prof Gita Mishra
  • Dr Jennifer White
  • Mr Dominic Cavenagh
  • AProf Leigh Tooth

Synopsis

The widespread outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a challenge for public health and medical care service provision. As a result, countries have had to make tough decisions in order to safeguard their people. These decisions include lockdowns and restrictions on people’s movement and engagement with society, and limited access to health care. Such restrictions have had an impact on use of health care including assessment and diagnosis, follow-up and monitoring, and prescription refills since access to health facilities and their attending physicians and other health professionals may have been restricted or denied. In response to the restructuring of hospital and community services to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, anecdotal reports suggest that the management of complex conditions has been negatively affected. The purpose of this mixed methods study is to further understand women’s experience of health service access during the COVID pandemic.