Comparison of socio-economic determinants of COVID-19 testing and positivity in Canada: A multi-provincial analysis.

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  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: Public Library of Science Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 101285081 Publication Model: eCollection Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1932-6203 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 19326203 NLM ISO Abbreviation: PLoS One Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Original Publication: San Francisco, CA : Public Library of Science
    • Subject Terms:
      COVID-19 Testing* ; COVID-19*/diagnosis ; COVID-19*/epidemiology; Female ; Humans ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Pandemics ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Ontario/epidemiology ; Income
    • Abstract:
      Background: The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have been more pronounced for socially disadvantaged populations. We sought to determine how access to SARS-CoV-2 testing and the likelihood of testing positive for COVID-19 were associated with demographic factors, socioeconomic status (SES) and social determinants of health (SDH) in three Canadian provinces.
      Methods: An observational population-based cross-sectional study was conducted for the provinces of Ontario, Manitoba and New Brunswick between March 1, 2020 and April 27, 2021, using provincial health administrative data. After excluding residents of long-term care homes, those without current provincial health insurance and those who were tested for COVID-19 out of province, records from provincial healthcare administrative databases were reviewed for 16,900,661 healthcare users. Data was modelled separately for each province in accordance to a prespecified protocol and follow-up consultations among provincial statisticians and collaborators. We employed univariate and multivariate regression models to examine determinants of testing and test results.
      Results: After adjustment for other variables, female sex and urban residency were positively associated with testing, while female sex was negatively associated with test positivity. In New Brunswick and Ontario, individuals living in higher income areas were more likely to be tested, whereas in Manitoba higher income was negatively associated with both testing and positivity. High ethnocultural composition was associated with lower testing rates. Both high ethnocultural composition and high situational vulnerability increased the odds of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2.
      Discussion: We observed that multiple demographic, income and SDH factors were associated with SARS-CoV-2 testing and test positivity. Barriers to healthcare access identified in this study specifically relate to COVID-19 testing but may reflect broader inequities for certain at-risk groups.
      Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no completing interests exist.
      (Copyright: © 2023 Antonova et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)
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    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20230823 Date Completed: 20230825 Latest Revision: 20230919
    • Publication Date:
      20231215
    • Accession Number:
      PMC10446177
    • Accession Number:
      10.1371/journal.pone.0289292
    • Accession Number:
      37611032