Determinants of Outpatient Physician Visits in the General Adult German Population during Later Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The goal of this study was to investigate the determinants of outpatient physician visits in Germany during the later stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cross-sectional data were used from the general adult population in Germany with n = 3091 individuals (data collection in mid-March 2022). Determinants were selected based on the extended Andersen model. The number of GP visits as well as the number of specialist visits in the past 12 months were used as outcome measures. Negative binomial regressions showed that the number of GP visits was positively associated with a lower educational level, being retired, lower levels of loneliness, the presence of at least one chronic condition, lower self-rated health, being vaccinated against COVID-19, and the presence of depression. Moreover, negative binomial regressions showed that the number of specialist visits was positively associated with being female, a lower age, having children, being married, not being full-time employed, the presence of at least one chronic condition, lower self-rated health, the presence of depression, being vaccinated against COVID-19 and having a lower coronavirus anxiety. In conclusion, while our study showed that need factors are still a main driver of outpatient physician visits, our findings additionally showed that predisposing characteristics, enabling resources and psychosocial factors are also important for the number of outpatient physician visits in Germany during the COVID-19 pandemic. Knowledge about these determinants (e.g., vaccination status, loneliness or coronavirus anxiety) is also important to avoid under- or overuse of the healthcare system.

Keywords: Andersen’s behavioral model; COVID-19; GP visits; SARS-CoV-2; coronavirus; coronavirus anxiety; health care use; health care utilization; loneliness; physician visits; specialist visits.