MEDIA RELEASE: June 2022
Concerns over COVID-19 have some Bermudians avoiding or postponing routine healthcare appointments.
BERMUDA: The pandemic has made an enormous impact on the lives of people worldwide, affecting even routine visits to healthcare providers. Results from a recent survey confirm that Bermuda is no exception, with sizeable minorities of residents reporting that they have avoided or postponed such appointments. Overall, three in ten residents (29%) postponed a routine dentist appointment, two in ten (22%) delayed a routine doctor appointment/check up, with an equal proportion delaying a routine eye exam; over one in ten (13%) have delayed a physiotherapy appointment, while one in ten (11%) have put off a regular counselling appointment.
While many of these appointments are simply routine, it is unclear the long-term effects that these decisions may lead to in the population.
Examining differences across demographics, younger residents are more likely to have postponed routine physiotherapy appointments as well as regular counselling appointments. Additionally, female respondents are more likely to have postponed a routine eye or dentist appointment.
Among those who postponed these healthcare visits, a majority believe that their appointments will be rescheduled within the next six months. Not to be overlooked, however, is the fact that there are significant proportions of residents who are unsure as to when they will reschedule their counselling (46%) and physiotherapy (40%) appointments, stating that they are waiting until it is safer to do so.
These results are part of Narrative Research Bermuda’s Online Bermuda Omnibus® Survey conducted from March 3 – March 14, 2022 with a sample of adult residents of Bermuda (18 years of age or older). The results above are not commissioned by a third party and were collected independently by Narrative Research Bermuda. The results presented in this document were collected from our online survey of 380 members of Narrative Research Bermuda’s proprietary online panel of adult residents, Bermuda Voice. A margin of error cannot be ascribed to the online survey results.
For more information, please contact:
Graham Redford, Managing Partner, Narrative Research Bermuda, 295-0972 or graham@narrativeresearch.bm
Margaret Chapman, COO and Partner, Narrative Research, (902) 493-3834 or mchapman@narrativeresearch.bm