A cross-sectional study of patients presenting for hospital-based screening for COVID-19: risk of disease, and healthcare access preferences.

Amanda Rojek; Martin Dutch; Daniel Peyton; Rachel Pelly; Mark Putland; Harriet Hiscock; Jonathan Knott

To our knowledge, this is the first study to present the clinical characteristics and helpseeking behaviours of patients attending an Australian ED for COVID-19 screening. We had a good (78%) response rate and included non-English speaking patients. However, our study has some limitations. The survey was conducted in a single ED with only those who had presented to the ED (and not other healthcare providers such as GPs) so our results may not generalise to patient groups beyond our setting. Further, we excluded patients who were assessed at triage to require active medical treatment or resuscitation, which may result in an under-representation of the true number of severe cases presenting to the ED for COVID-19 screening. The survey was based on self-report and we were unable to verify patient responses (e.g. if they had tried to but been unable to get an appointment with a GP).