A Cross-Sectional Study of Attitude and Behaviour of Individuals Towards Visiting the Hospital During the COVID-19 Pandemic in India.

Introduction: Visiting the hospital is important as a part of check-up in avoiding the major risks of unknown and serious diseases irrespective of any pandemic. Our study aims to understand the attitude and behaviour of the public towards visiting the hospital during COVID-19 pandemic in two major hotspot areas of India namely western Maharashtra state and southern Karnataka state.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between July-August 2021 among the population of western Maharashtra and southern Karnataka states in India. A total of 636 respondents responded to the survey using an electronic form that was distributed through social media platforms and returned electronically. The inclusion criteria were literate undergraduate and postgraduate individuals from the public and individuals from the medical field at the time of data collection, having access to an internet connection to fill out the online questionnaire. Individuals who did not fill the form completely were excluded from the study.

Results: Among 636 respondents, 74.8% were not ready to visit the hospitals while 25.2% of respondents were willing to go to the hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic if their symptoms were serious. The top three reasons for the reduced willingness to seek hospital care were fear of getting infected in the hospitals by COVID-19 patients (72.6%), fear of stepping out of home (31.1%) and fear of COVID-19 infection from lab equipment (24.5%).

Conclusion: Overall the study revealed that there was a reduction in willingness to visit hospitals for conditions other than COVID-19 after the start of the pandemic. Individuals were still willing to go to hospital if they experienced severe symptoms or symptoms attributed to COVID-19. These findings may be useful to develop strategies to address the public's safety concerns related to seeking hospital care during a pandemic.