Patient Information Forum: Covid choices survey – main findings (October 2020)

Summary

The Patient Information Forum ran a survey on covid choices. It asked how people are balancing the need to have new or ongoing health conditions treated and managed versus the risks of contracting COVID-19.

The aim of the survey was to identify the factors important to patients’ decision-making. This will help charities and the NHS produce the information patients need to make crucial decisions about health and well-being.

Content

Key findings

• Fear of catching and becoming seriously ill with COVID-19 outweighed concerns about respondents’ existing health conditions.
• Around 1 in 3 people said they had delayed healthcare and this was broadly consistent across all conditions. This rose to 2 in 5 for people with diabetes, lung disease and mental health conditions.
• People had switched to home therapy, delayed starting new treatments, avoided routine medication monitoring or self- managed. Some felt their health had deteriorated while they waited for the pandemic to abate.