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. 2020 Oct;6(3):e001378.
doi: 10.1136/rmdopen-2020-001378.

Impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable patients with rheumatic disease: results of a worldwide survey

Bella Mehta  1   2 , Deanna Jannat-Khah  3   2 , Mark Alan Fontana  3 , Carine J Moezinia  3 , Carol A Mancuso  3   2 , Anne R Bass  3   2 , Vinicius C Antao  3 , Allan Gibofsky  3   2 , Susan M Goodman  3   2 , Said Ibrahim  2
Affiliations

Impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable patients with rheumatic disease: results of a worldwide survey

Bella Mehta et al. RMD Open. 2020 Oct.

Abstract

Objective: There is emerging evidence that COVID-19 disproportionately affects people from racial/ethnic minority and low socioeconomic status (SES) groups. Many physicians across the globe are changing practice patterns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We sought to examine the practice changes among rheumatologists and what they perceive the impact to be on their most vulnerable patients.

Methods: We administered an online survey to a convenience sample of rheumatologists worldwide during the initial height of the pandemic (between 8 April and 4 May 2020) via social media and group emails. We surveyed rheumatologists about their opinions regarding patients from low SES and racial/ethnic minority groups in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mainly, what their specific concerns were, including the challenges of medication access; and about specific social factors (health literacy, poverty, food insecurity, access to telehealth video) that may be complicating the management of rheumatologic conditions during this time.

Results: 548 rheumatologists responded from 64 countries and shared concerns of food insecurity, low health literacy, poverty and factors that preclude social distancing such as working and dense housing conditions among their patients. Although 82% of rheumatologists had switched to telehealth video, 17% of respondents estimated that about a quarter of their patients did not have access to telehealth video, especially those from below the poverty line. The majority of respondents believed these vulnerable patients, from racial/ethnic minorities and from low SES groups, would do worse, in terms of morbidity and mortality, during the pandemic.

Conclusion: In this sample of rheumatologists from 64 countries, there is a clear shift in practice to telehealth video consultations and widespread concern for socially and economically vulnerable patients with rheumatic disease.

Keywords: Autoimmune Diseases; Epidemiology; Qualitative research.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: SI receives grant funds from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases; SMG grants and personal fees from Novartis—consulting/research support, Pfizer—consulting/research support, BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders—editorial board and Horizon—research support; DJ-K owns stocks in the following companies: Cytodyn, Walgreens, AstraZeneca. All other authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Number of daily cases of COVID-19 worldwide according to date.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The global distribution of survey respondents. Map colours indicate the number of rheumatologists who answered the survey, with increasing darkness corresponding to higher numbers of respondents.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Reasons perceived by rheumatologists for worse outcomes in low socioeconomic and racial/ethnic minorities.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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