Fengman Doua, Mengna Luanb, Zhigang Taoc, Hongjie Yuand, Fangxue Yua
Author information
a Chengdu Medical Information Institute, Chengdu, China
b Research Institute of Economics and Management, Southwestern University of Finance and
Economics, Chengdu 610074, China
c Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, China
d Economics and Management School, Wuhan University, Wuhan 510632, China
E-mail: fmdou@aliyun.com (Fengman Dou), luanmn@swufe.edu.cn (Mengna Luan, corresponding author), zgtao@ckgsb.edu.cn (Zhigang Tao), hjyuan@whu.edu.cn (Hongjie Yuan), 27556242@qq.com (Fangxue Yu)
Abstract
While the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic directly caused millions of hospitalizations and deaths, its indirect impacts on people with other illnesses can be of equal importance. Using discharge records in a major Chinese megacity where there was a limited number of COVID-19 cases, we find significant declines in the number of hospital admissions for a whole spectrum of disease categories during the pandemic. The declines were larger in COVID-19 designated hospitals and top-grade hospitals. In-hospital mortality and length of stay (LOS) were higher for stroke, ischaemic heart diseases, and malignant neoplasms, while women delivering in hospitals had fewer C-sections and shorter LOS. Our results suggest that people avoided necessary hospitalization out of fear of being infected by COVID-19. To prevent the adverse impacts of delaying health care, policymakers should establish clear guidelines encouraging people to seek necessary care, especially during the reopening period.
Keywords
COVID-19, hospitalization, fear of infection
Cite this article
Fengman Dou, Mengna Luan, Zhigang Tao, Hongjie Yuan, Fangxue Yu. New Nosocomephobia? Changes in Hospitalizations during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Front. Econ. China, 2021, 16(4): 607−627 https://doi.org/10.54605/fec20210402
New Nosocomephobia.pdf
