Background: COVID-19 is a global pandemic with unprecedented medical, economic and social consequences affecting nations across the world. This epidemic arises while chronic diseases are continued to be a public health concern. Though evidence is generated on its impact on the health care system, little is known about the Impact of COVID −19 on the care-seeking behavior of chronic patients. Objective: To assess the Impact of COVID-19 on healthcare-seeking behavior of patients with chronic diseases attending follow-up at public hospitals in Jimma zone, South West Ethiopia. Methods: Facility-based cross-sectional study design was employed. The sample was calculated using the single population proportion formula. Hospitals were selected by using simple random sampling. Then, the final calculated sample size for the study was proportionally allocated to each selected hospital. Data were collected from 400 participants through face-to-face interviews and card reviews. Data were entered into Epi-Data version 3.1 and then exported to SPSS version 23 for analysis. Binary and multivariable logistic regression analyses with 95% CI for odds ratio (OR) were used to identify significant factors. Results: Of the total respondents 156 (39.0%) of them had poor health-seeking behavior. Contact history with COVID −19 patient (AOR = 2.8; 95% CI = 1.1-7.0), perceived moderate depression (AOR = 2.3; 95% CI = 1.2-4.2), perceived extreme depression (AOR = 4.3; 95% CI = 1.8-10.5), shortage of medication (AOR = 2.4; 95% CI = 1.0-6.2) increases the odds of poor health-seeking behavior. In addition, the odds of poor health-seeking in patients with no formal education were higher compared to patients with higher educational status (AOR = 2.7; 95% CI = 1.0-9.0). Conclusion: COVID −19 outbreaks affected the health-seeking behavior of patients with chronic diseases. The impact was found to be more significant among patients who had a contact history with COVID −19 patients. Moreover, perceived depression, shortage of medication, and low educational status were significant predictors of poor health-seeking behavior. Therefore, working on the barriers to the health-seeking behavior of chronic patients may reduce the effect of COVID-19.

Introduction in the last two years, COVID-19 has largely changed the rhythm of human life and overwhelmed the healthcare systems globally. Patients with pre-existing chronic diseases have worse outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods an institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from April 1-30, 2021. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire and data extraction checklist. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select a total of 400 study participants. Data were entered into EPI data version 3.5.3 and exported to Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) version 23.0 for analysis. Multivariable logistic regression was used and variables with a p-value < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results three hundred and ten (77.5%) of the respondents had a poor overall health-related quality of life (HRQOL) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Younger age (AOR=0.10.95% CI: 0.04-0.27), no formal education (AOR=5.03, 95% CI: 1.92-13.22), shorter treatment duration(AOR=0.11, 95% CI: 0.04-0.29), presence of respiratory symptoms (AOR=9.69, 95% CI: 2.93-32.09) and missed health-care appointment during COVID-19 (AOR=3.68, 95%CI: 1.82-7.43) were significantly associated with health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Conclusion most of the respondents had a poor overall health-related quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic. Consideration of the influence of outbreaks on the continuity of care for a patient and focusing on contributing factors should be an essential concern of the healthcare system. The objective is to assess health-related quality and factors associated with health-related quality of life among patients with chronic diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic.