Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022
Did pandemic lockdowns cause delays in routine medical checkups and screenings?
According to CDC data, by the end of June 2020, 41% of American adults had reported "delaying or avoiding" urgent or emergency care (12%) and routine check-ups (32%) due to concerns about being infected with the coronavirus. Such behavior was particularly prevalent among certain groups, including caretakers for adults, those with other medical conditions or disabilities, and Black or Hispanic individuals.
Others, however, have simply been unable to schedule medical screenings or appointments due to pandemic-induced lockdowns. A July 2020 study by the Epic Health Research Network found that volumes of screenings for various types of cancers were 29% to 36% lower than their pre-pandemic levels. Doctors are reporting anxieties that many patients remain undiagnosed or are coming in with more severe cases.
The American Heart Association has since begun a "Don't Die of Doubt" campaign, encouraging patients to seek medical help for non-COVID-19-related conditions.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- Centers for Disease Control Delay or Avoidance of Medical Care Because of COVID-19–Related Concerns — United States, June 2020
- New York Times Advanced Cancers Are Emerging, Doctors Warn, Citing Pandemic Drop in Screenings
- Epic Research Delayed Cancer Screenings—A Second Look
- American Heart Association More people are dying during the pandemic – and not just from COVID-19
About fact briefs
Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.
See all fact briefs
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
Learn MoreLatest Fact Briefs
Is there a scientific consensus that life begins at conception?
Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022
Do countries around the world subsidize fossil fuels?
Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022
Is the repeal of Roe v. Wade expected to increase the maternal death rate?
Wednesday, Jul. 27, 2022