1.
We are indeed grateful for your thoughtful and insightful comments on our study, “Relationship Between Fear of Coronavirus Disease 2019 and Patient Preferences for Medical Services in Ghana: A Cross‐Sectional Study.” We sincerely appreciate your engagement with our work and the critical issues it raises.
Reviewer emphasised that some of the core implications of our findings, particularly the potential for fear‐driven avoidance of healthcare services to exacerbate delayed diagnoses, deteriorate health outcomes, and increase the strain on already overburdened health systems [1]. We concur that these repercussions are not exclusive to Ghana but rather have a more general application, particularly for nations with comparable socioeconomic and healthcare systems.
Your assertion regarding the significance of fostering public trust in the safety of healthcare environments is particularly relevant. As you correctly observe, the willingness of individuals to seek timely care will increase when they trust that medical facilities are secure and adequately prepared, thereby supporting improved population health outcomes during emergencies.
Again, the reviewer also placed emphasis on the psychological aspects of public health emergencies. He stressed that it is imperative to incorporate psychological interventions, such as public education campaigns, expanded access to mental health services, and lowering the stigma of hospital visits during pandemics, to implement a comprehensive response to pandemics [2]. We agree that the mitigation of fear and anxiety is not a peripheral issue, but rather a fundamental aspect of guaranteeing fair access to healthcare during health crises. The necessity of interdisciplinary public health strategies that integrate communication, psychological support, and structural preparedness is emphasised by your reflections. We are optimistic that our research will make a substantial contribution to these ongoing endeavours.
On behalf of my colleagues, we are grateful for your continued input and look forward to possible future collaboration.
Thank you.
Author Contributions
Nathan Kumasenu Mensah: conceptualization, writing – original draft, writing – review and editing, methodology, formal analysis, and data curation. Godwin Adzakpah: conceptualization, writing – original draft, writing – review and editing, methodology, formal analysis, and data curation.
1. Transparency Statement
Godwin Adzakpah affirms that this manuscript is an honest, accurate, and transparent account of the study being reported; that no important aspects of the study have been omitted; and that any discrepancies from the study as planned (and, if relevant, registered) have been explained.
Acknowledgments
All authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript. Godwin Adzakpah had full access to all of the data in this study and takes complete responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.
Data Availability Statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
References
- 1. Mensah N. K., Adzakpah G., Abakah J., et al., “Relationship Between Fear of Coronavirus Disease 2019 and Patient Preferences for Medical Services in Ghana: A Cross‐Sectional Study,” Health Science Reports 8, no. 7 (2025): e70898, 10.1002/hsr2.70898. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 2. Inchausti F., MacBeth A., Hasson‐Ohayon I., and Dimaggio G., “Psychological Intervention and COVID‐19: What We Know So Far and What We Can Do,” Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy 50, no. 4 (2020): 243–250, 10.1007/s10879-020-09460-w. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
Associated Data
This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.
Data Availability Statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.