Table 1 The perceived changes in home visit utilization and the possible reasons
|  | All (n = 31) | Location | Number of doctors | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Yes | % | Rural (n = 14) | % | Urban (n = 17) | % | p | Solo practice (n = 9) | % | Two or more doctors (n = 22) | % | p | |
Compared with before the COVID-19 pandemic | ||||||||||||
 The number of newly requested home visits has increased | 22 | 71.0 | 10 | 71.4 | 12 | 70.6 | 0.959 | 6 | 66.7 | 16 | 72.7 | 0.736 |
 The number of home visit patients with a short prognosis has increased | 12 | 38.7 | 4 | 28.6 | 8 | 47.1 | 0.293 | 3 | 33.3 | 9 | 40.9 | 0.694 |
 The number of patients dying at home has increased | 23 | 74.2 | 10 | 71.4 | 13 | 76.5 | 0.750 | 6 | 66.7 | 17 | 77.3 | 0.540 |
Many patients and their families | ||||||||||||
 Requested home visits after being recommended by a physician or nurse at a hospital | 17 | 54.8 | 9 | 64.3 | 8 | 47.1 | 0.337 | 4 | 44.4 | 13 | 59.1 | 0.457 |
 Wanted to stay at home because they were worried about being infected with COVID-19 at a hospital | 13 | 41.9 | 5 | 35.7 | 8 | 47.1 | 0.717 | 4 | 44.4 | 9 | 40.9 | 0.856 |
 Wanted home visits because the inpatient facilities were restricting visitation | 29 | 93.5 | 13 | 92.9 | 16 | 94.1 | 0.887 | 8 | 88.9 | 21 | 95.5 | 0.499 |