COVID-19 Pandemic and Disruptions in Essential Health Services in Kenya

Abstract

Background: Public health emergencies can disrupt provision and access of essential healthcare services, exacerbating the health crisis. We assessed the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on essential healthcare services in Kenya, and how those varied with the burden of COVID-19 in different regions of the country. Methods: Using data routinely collected from health facilities across the country, we conducted interrupted time series analysis to examine the impact of COVID-19 on key indicators of essential healthcare. We fitted the models using the data from the pre-pandemic period, predicted the trends for the next 13 months for each indicator, and compared the predicted values with the observed cases during the pandemic period. We used Poisson models to estimate the monthly incident rate ratios for each indicator to compare the effect in regions with high and low COVID-19 burden.Findings: Outpatients visits declined by 21% during the pandemic, with children Interpretation: The COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya disrupted essential health services with utilization of outpatient visits, child immunization, screening and diagnostic services adversely affected. There is need for attention on these vulnerable essential services to prevent exacerbation of associated disease burdens during health crises.Funding Information: Centre for Epidemiological and Modelling Analysis, University of Nairobi receives support from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Declaration of Interests: None to declare.