The impact of COVID-19 and national COVID-19 policies on people with rheumatic diseases; the CORE (COVID-19 in rheumatic diseases) project
Concept
The aims of the CORE (COVID-19 in rheumatic diseases) project are to determine the impact of the pandemic on health care utilization for the most frequent RMDs (incl. rheumatoid arthritis (RA), spondyloarthritis (SpA), and osteoarthritis (OA). It will also assess the impact of different national COVID-19 lockdown policies on RMD patients’ healthcare utilisation in comparison with the reference population.
Facts and Figures
M Englund
Lund University
Meet the Team
Project Lead
M EnglundLund University
Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH)
Erasmus MC Netherlands
Objectives
- To estimate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic (as a natural experiment) on healthcare utilisation (access to treatments including surgeries, prescribed drugs, etc.) in individuals with and without RMDs
- To assess the impact of pandemic lockdown restrictions and social distancing on hospitalisation/mortality due to COVID-19 in RMD patients.
Goals/Milestones
- Data cleaning / analysis and data retrieval
- Abstract / Publication
Patient Voice
In the absence of a vaccine, protecting vulnerable individuals is the only strategy to reduce the impact of the deadly COVID-19 virus. The CORE project will provide the necessary knowledge to develop precise protection strategies for people with rheumatic disease and, in the eventuality of a vaccine, will help healthcare systems to prioritise people at higher risk. Altogether, this project will provide knowledge that will be immediately useful and will support future efforts against COVID-19 and similar pandemics.