Evaluation of fear, willingness to seek care, and healthcare delivery preferences for patients with nephrolithiasis during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: Although minimal is known about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)'s impact on patient healthcare perceptions, improved understanding can guide healthcare providers to adequately address patient concerns. This cross-sectional study investigated how fear induced by COVID-19 impacted nephrolithiasis patients' perceptions, decision-making, and preferences for care delivery.

Methods: Utilizing the validated Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S), patients were surveyed at a single stone clinic during part of the COVID-19 pandemic, 03/2021-04/2022. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Chi-square tests, and multinomial logistic regression evaluated the effect of sociodemographics on responses.

Results: Two hundred and four surveys were completed. Mean age was 58±16 years, and 112 (54.9%) were women. Mean FCV-19S was 14.8±5.8 points (range, 7-33). Women and non-Caucasian races were associated with higher fear scores (P<0.01 and P=0.01 respectively). Stone prevention effort was not associated with fear (P=0.38). Poorer self-assessed health status was associated with increased stone prevention efforts (P=0.04). Preference for in-person care was reported in 89% of patients. Willingness to seek care varied by age and education, with decreased likelihood to seek care for middle-aged patients (P=0.04) and increased education (P=0.01).

Conclusions: Perceived fear during the COVID-19 pandemic was highly variable in nephrolithiasis patients, with higher fear scores in women and non-Caucasians. Willingness to seek care during the pandemic varied with age, education level, symptom severity, COVID-19 fear, current stone status, and health status. Stone patients greatly preferred in-person medical care over telemedicine during COVID-19. Future studies are needed to further evaluate these health disparities, discrepancies in fear, and comfort in seeking stone-related healthcare to help us better inform health policymakers and provide patient-centered care.