Healthcare Utilisation and Seeking Behaviours Among Adults During COVID-19: A United Arab Emirates Perspective

Background: The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, marked by the emergence of new variants and challenges of long COVID, underscores the need to understand the population’s healthcare utilization patterns and seeking behaviours observed during pandemics. Aim: This study examined the insights obtained from the pandemic, particularly in the context of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), it lauded for its effective pandemic response. Methods: A snowball sampling method was used to recruit participants from the UAE in this crosssectional study. A 59-item online questionnaire addressing demographic characteristics, healthcare utilization patterns, and seeking behaviors during the pandemic was employed. Results: A total of 3371 participants completed the online questionnaire, reporting a decrease in healthcare utilization during the lockdown (12.95%) compared to post-lockdown (53.1%). Significantly higher healthcare service utilization was reported among females (p <0.000), those aged >41 years (p <0.05), Emirati nationals (p <0.05), and those with health insurance (p <0.000). Adapting to changing health-seeking behaviors, addressing gender disparities, and mitigating age-related barriers are valuable challenges that were overcome. Conclusion: This study highlights decreased healthcare seeking behaviours during the pandemic, accompanied by concerns about accessing healthcare. Notably, age, nationality, health insurance, perceived health status, and chronic conditions significantly influenced healthcare utilisation. These findings underline the necessity for resilient and adaptive healthcare systems ahead of future pandemics.