Factors influencing health-seeking behavior of and healthcare availability to COVID-19 patients in a tertiary care hospital: A Qualitative Study

INTRODUCTION:

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted normal life throughout the world since early 2020. India has risen to be the country with the second highest number of cases and third highest number of deaths. A major hurdle in reducing the mortality due to COVID-19 has been a lack of timely access to adequate healthcare, for example due to delays in hospital admission. Another emerging problem has been patients’ preferences for receiving treatment at certain hospitals, leading to those hospitals being overwhelmed with cases despite an overall adequacy in the number of beds available. However, data needs to be gathered to consolidate the so far largely anecdotal evidence of inadequate healthcare delivery. Hence, we have formulated this study to highlight the same in a qualitative analysis and yield further information on issues that require broader, quantitative research to be able to build an effective response to pandemics and crises of the future. AIM:

To qualitatively study the factors influencing healthcare availability and health seeking

behavior of COVID 19 patients at a tertiary care hospital.

OBJECTIVES: 1. To study the social and demographic profile of COVID 19 patients in a tertiary care hospital. 2. To study the facilitating and inhibiting factor s influencing health seeking behavior of COVID 19 patients in a tertiary care hospital.

3.To study the knowledge, attitude, and practices of persons about healthcare availability in the COVID-19 pandemic.

INCLUSION CRITERIA: 1. Patients in the age group of 18 to 60 years. 2. Patients admitted to the COVID 19 ward of our tertiary care hospital for the treatment of COVID 19. 3. Patients who are conscious, co operative, and oriented to time, place, and person and whose health conditions are stable enough to enable them to engage in the in depth interview.

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

1. Patients who are not mentally stable.

2. Patients not willing to participate.

METHODOLOGY AND ANALYSIS:

This is a qualitative study. It will be commenced after receiving approval from the Institutional Ethics Committee, conducted through semi-structured interviews in the patients’ own words in the COVID wards at the tertiary care hospital. Sampling technique used will be purposive sampling. Patients appearing the most stable in the ward and willing to answer the interview schedule will be enrolled purposively. The sample size is 6 participants, based on the recommendation given by Morse (1994) for phenomenological studies. The interview duration will be 15 to 25 minutes. Before this, participants will be given the Informed Consent Document (ICD) and allotted time to ask questions or doubts. Specific consent will be taken for the audio recording of the interviews by the investigator, for the purpose of analysis. Participation in the study will be at no cost to the participant. Therefore, no compensation will be provided. We plan to conduct this study over a period of 1.5 months. Data gathered in this time will be subsequently analysed by Thematic Content Analysis.