Abstract
Background: Understanding how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted healthcare delivery for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) may inform crisis planning and response. This study aimed to determine 1) the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the healthcare of individuals with MS in Australia; and 2) the personal and service-related factors associated with the impact of healthcare disruption.
Method: Using 2022 data from the Australian MS Longitudinal Study survey, participants reported on disruption to relevant healthcare services during the pandemic, and the impact of disruption on their health. Impact of disruption on health was scored on a scale from 1 (no impact) to 5 (extreme impact). An overall impact score was calculated for participants by multiplying the number of services they used by impact score. Analysis was performed using chi-square and t-tests or Kruskal-Wallis tests.
Results: Of the 1,484 survey participants, 36.9% reported healthcare disruption, with disruption reported in a mean of 2.85 services. Higher frequency of disruption was experienced for physiotherapy (63.5%) and neurology (54.1%). Severe impact was seen for the “other” services category which included exercise physiologists, massage and in-home support. Disruption to pharmaceutical access, allied health (including physiotherapy and occupational therapy), and support services (including in home care and respite care) had a moderate impact on health. Higher overall impact was experienced by people with four or more comorbidities (dcohen=0.5 95% CI 0.2 to 0.7), more severe symptom loads (dcohen=1.7 95% CI 1.0 to 2.4) and disability (dcohen=0.7 95% CI 0.4 to 0.9).
Conclusion: Our findings indicate that disruption to allied health and support services during the COVID-19 impacted the health of people with MS the most. Planning for future crisis should prioritise access to these services and prioritise those most vulnerable from healthcare disruption, particularly those with more severe symptoms, disabilities and comorbidities.