We surveyed more than 1,000 adult consumers in Australia on how Covid-19 has changed their health care behaviours and preferences. The survey included 29 questions and assessed a range of topics including:
- Covid-19’s impact on consumers’ personal circumstances
- Testing and site of care preferences
- Communication preferences with providers
- Preferences related to returning to health care facilities
- Virtual care preferences
Across the board, it is clear that consumers in Australia have been deeply impacted by Covid-19. The pandemic has changed the way consumers want to engage with the health care system and what they expect from their providers. There are also slight differences in preferences based on insurance coverage and gender.
Methodology: The survey was fielded between 26 May-8 June, 2020 and the questions were a mix of traditional and MaxDiff formats, which requires respondents to make trade-offs between preferences. The national survey panel demographics were:
- Age groups: 24% aged 19-29, 26% aged 30-49, 26% aged 50-64, and 25% aged 65+
- Insurance: 40% private and 60% public-only insurance holders
- Income: 17% earn less than AUD$25K a year, 18% between $25K-50K, 18% between $50K-75K, 18% between $75K-100K, 17% between $100K-150K, and 11% more than $150K
- Regions: 35% New South Wales, 25% Victoria, 20% Queensland, 10% Western Australia, 8% South Australia, and 3% Tasmania
- Health care utilisation: More than a third of consumers (36%) use health care mostly for preventive check-ups and health monitoring; another third (36%) seek out health care only when they’re sick or injured; less than a quarter (16%) have a chronic health condition and require frequent care; and 12% either try to avoid the health care system or never use it