Public health
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The first three months of the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted healthcare systems, creating an environment by which deaths have occurred that are not directly due to COVID-19, but have occurred owing to the healthcare and societal environment resulting from COVID-19. The objective of this research is to quantify such excess deaths, partitioned by age group and gender. ⋯ There have been more excess deaths in several age group and gender cohorts during the first three months of the pandemic, beyond direct deaths directly attributable to COVID-19. These non-COVID-19 excess deaths are most apparent in the 25- to 44-year age group for women and 15- to 54-year age group for men. Further research is needed to assess the cause of such excess deaths and introduce safeguards to reduce such deaths in the future.
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The impact of COVID-19 upon acute care admission rates and patterns are unknown. We sought to determine the change in rates and types of admissions to tertiary and specialty care hospitals in the COVID-19 era compared with pre-COVID-19 era. ⋯ We observed a sharp decline in acute care hospital admissions, with a significant decline in admissions due to seven out of eight acute care conditions. This decline was associated with a shorter length of stay but not associated with a change in in-hospital mortality rate.
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We aimed to investigate possible differences in the aggregated hospital fatality rate from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in France at the early phase of the outbreak and to determine whether factors related to population or healthcare supply before the pandemic could be associated with outcome differences. ⋯ The aggregated hospital fatality rate from COVID-19 in France seems to vary among geographic areas, with some factors pertaining to local healthcare supply being associated with the outcome.
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This study aimed to evaluate the association of chronic diseases and indigenous ethnicity on the poor prognosis of outpatients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and hospitalised patients in Mexico. ⋯ Diabetes, hypertension and obesity combined with older age, male sex and indigenous ethnicity increase the risk of death after SARS-CoV-2 infection in the Mexican population. It is recommended that the incidence of COVID-19 is monitored in indigenous communities, and access to health services is increased nationwide.
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We aim to identify the factors associated with support and compliance with general quarantine and with the acceptability and potential use of a contact-tracing mobile phone application among French respondents. ⋯ Our analysis indicates that prevention campaigns that stress the individual risk in case of infection or the benefits of quarantine could foster compliance to quarantine protocols. Remote psychological support might also promote quarantine adherence among individuals most distressed by the quarantine. Moreover, public communications should focus on restoring trust among the population as trust is strongly correlated with the willingness to use a contact-tracing application.