Does the Fear of COVID-19 Affect Hospital Attendance in Cameroon?

Utilization of health services during COVID-19 is an important policy for improving health outcomes. However, demand-side barriers to health care are as important as supply-side factors in deterring patients from seeking care during this health crisis. This paper takes a fresh look and contributes to the literature by focuses on a demand-side factor, the fear of Covid-19 infection. We use data from the Coronavirus Impact Assessment Survey conducted by the National Institute of Statistics and compiled data from the World Health Organization’s Covid-19 newsletter in Cameroon. These data show that 61.2% of respondents were using hospitals less during the health crisis. The results of the Probit regressions show that concern about the Covid-19 pandemic reduces the likelihood of attending hospitals. However, this result is heterogeneous by sector of activity and the place of residence of the respondents. The reduction of outings and the suspension of jobs also explain the low hospital attendance during this crisis. Based on these results, we encourage the massive sensitization of communities in using formal health care in strict compliance with the measures to fight the pandemic.Funding: None to declare. Declaration of Interest: None to declare.