Longitudinal study of Quality of Life Assessment in primary care during COVID-19 pandemic using EuroQol

Alba Pons Revuelta, Helena Abadín Carcedo, Antonio Ángel Regueiro Martínez, Ana María Romero García, Ana Clavería Fontán

Keywords: Quality of Life, Primary Health Care, COVID-19

Background:
The global COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the physical and mental health of the population. Analyzing how the assessment of quality of life has changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic can give us the necessary tools to anticipate the needs of our population from a holistic perspective.

Research questions:
Our main objective is to quantify the changes in the quality of life of the population of our health center in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic one year after the Spanish state alarm.

Method:
Prospective cohort study, 100 patients randomly selected from those assigned to the Vilanova de Arousa Health Center, who met the criteria. A semi-structured telephone survey was conducted, including EQ-5D-5L and sociodemographic data, three times between June 2020 and August 2021. Generalized linear model for repeated measures was applied.

Results:
The participants were 45% men and 55% women, with an average age of 54 years old (SD 18). EQ Visual Analogue Scale (EQ-VAS) did not show significant differences. The VAS median at the beginning (June to August 2020) was 69.3 (95% CI 65.3-73.4), 6 months later (December 2020 to February 2021) was 71.1 (95% CI 66.8-75.4) and at the end of the study, 12 months later (June to August 2021), was 70.5 (95% CI 66.3-74.7).
At the beginning of our study, 96% of the participants did not have COVID infection either themselves or their partners and 6 months later, in the third wave, 79% survived infection-free or without suspicion of it.

Conclusions:
Our preliminary results conclude that there are no significant changes in the quality of life of our population in the context of COVID-19 pandemic.

Points for discussion:
What’s your perception about the impact that this pandemic had over Primary Care and the Health Systems?

Is this study applicable to your Health Care Center?

What results do you think you could get in your country?