Impact of COVID-19: Unmet needs for rehabilitation services among Canadians living with long-term conditions or disabilities

Background: Rehabilitation services are considered an essential part of universal health coverage and an important strategy for achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal of ensuring healthy lives and well-being for all. In Canada, the delivery of rehabilitation services varies greatly depending on the severity and type of health condition, affordability, and accessibility. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant disruptions in the delivery of rehabilitation services. However, the magnitude and health impacts of these disruptions, and the resulting negative health outcomes remain unknown. Objective: We aim to investigate the magnitude, contributing factors, and self-perceived impacts of unmet rehabilitation needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We propose a cross-sectional study using data from a national survey conducted by Statistics Canada between June 23 to July 6, 2020. We will include 13,487 Canadians living with a long-term condition or a disability. Individuals with unmet rehabilitation needs include those who reported that they needed rehabilitation (i.e., physiotherapy, chiropractic) but did not receive it due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We will use the information on demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related characteristics (e.g., age, gender, education, province of residence) to determine who was more likely to report unmet rehabilitation needs. We will use the self-reported measure of change in health to assess the possible deterioration in overall health during the COVID-19 pandemic. We will stratify all analyses by age, gender, and province. Significance: Our study will provide crucial evidence of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the access and delivery of rehabilitation to Canadians living with long-term conditions or disabilities, and to other marginalized populations. We will work with knowledge users to guide the planning of rehabilitation services in the extended pandemic period and future pandemics.