Impact of covid-19 on the health of the general and more vulnerable population and its determinants: Health care and social survey–essoc, study protocol

Abstract

This manuscript describes the rationale and protocol of a real-world data (RWD) study entitled Health Care and Social Survey (ESSOC, Encuesta Sanitaria y Social). The study’s objective is to determine the magnitude, characteristics, and evolution of the COVID-19 impact on overall health as well as the socioeconomic, psychosocial, behavioural, occupational, environmental, and clinical determinants of both the general and more vulnerable population. The study integrates observational data collected through a survey using a probabilistic, overlapping panel design, and data from clinical, epidemiological, demographic, and environmental registries. The data will be analysed using advanced statistical, sampling, and machine learning techniques. The study is based on several measurements obtained from three random samples of the Andalusian (Spain) population: general population aged 16 years and over, residents in disadvantaged areas, and people over the age of 55. Given the current characteristics of this pandemic and its future repercussions, this project will generate relevant information on a regular basis, commencing from the beginning of the State of Alarm. It will also establish institutional alliances of great social value, explore and apply powerful and novel methodologies, and produce large, integrated, high-quality and open-access databases. The information described here will be vital for health systems in order to design tailor-made interventions aimed at improving the health care, health, and quality of life of the populations most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic

The funding received to date for this research is partly public, obtained from funds of the Andalusian Institute of Statistics and Cartography (IECA) and the Andalusian School of Public Health (EASP), and partly private, obtained from the competitive calls of the SUPERA COVID-19 Fund of Santander Universities (SAUN), the Conference of Spanish University Rectors (CRUE, Conferencia de Rectores de Universidades Españolas), and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas), in addition to the COVID-19 Competitive Grant Program from Pfizer Global Medical Grants. The private funding sources did not participate in the design or conduct of the study; the collection, management, analysis, or interpretation of the data; or the preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript. This work is also supported in part by the IMAG–Maria de Maeztu grant CEX2020-001105-M/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Spain [grant number PID2019-106861RB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033]