Healthcare access and attitudes towards telehealth during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic among an Australian cohort with inflammatory arthritis

Adam Rischin; David Liew; Rachel Black; Ashley Fletcher; Rachelle Buchbinder; Marissa Lassere; Lyn March; Philip C Robinson; Catherine Hill; ARAD Steering Committee†

doi:10.1111/imj.15309

Healthcare access and attitudes towards telehealth during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic among an Australian cohort with inflammatory arthritis

Intern Med J. 2021 May;51(5):788-792. doi: 10.1111/imj.15309.

Authors

Adam Rischin¹, David Liew^{2

3}, Rachel Black^{4

5

6}, Ashley Fletcher^{7

8}, Rachelle Buchbinder^{7

8}, Marissa Lassere^{9

10}, Lyn March^{11

12}, Philip C Robinson¹³, Catherine Hill^{4

5

6}; ARAD Steering Committee†

Affiliations

¹ Department of Rheumatology, The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
² Department of Rheumatology, Austin Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
³ Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁴ Rheumatology Unit, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
⁵ Rheumatology Unit, The Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
⁶ Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
⁷ Monash Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Cabrini Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁸ Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁹ School of Population Health, UNSW Medicine, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
¹⁰ Department of Rheumatology, St George Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
¹¹ Florance and Cope Professorial Department of Rheumatology, Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
¹² Institute of Bone and Joint Research, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
¹³ University of Queensland Faculty of Medicine, Department of Rheumatology, Royal Brisbane Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Abstract

Community restrictions due to COVID-19 have changed healthcare, including increased telehealth use. During the early pandemic phase, a cohort of Australian patients with inflammatory arthritis was surveyed. Self-reported access to healthcare was maintained and physical health was more likely to be self-rated poorly than mental health. There was a high level of support for telehealth during and after the pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; healthcare access; inflammatory arthritis; mental health; physical health; telehealth.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Arthritis* / epidemiology
Attitude
Australia / epidemiology
COVID-19*
Humans
Pandemics
SARS-CoV-2
Telemedicine*

Grants and funding

None.