Impact of COVID-19 and mitigation plans on essential health services: institutional experience of a hospital in Ethiopia

Firaol Dandena,Berhanetsehay Teklewold,Dagmawi Anteneh

doi:10.1186/s12913-021-07106-8

Firaol Dandena, Berhanetsehay Teklewold + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-07106-8

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Abstract

BackgroundHealth systems around the world are being challenged by an on-going COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic and associated response can have a significant downstream effect on access to routine health care services, and indirectly cause morbidity and mortality from causes other than the disease itself, especially in resource-poor countries such as Ethiopia. This study aimed to explore the impact of the pandemic on these services and measures taken to combat the effect.MethodsThe study was conducted at St. Paul’s hospital millennium medical college (SPHMMC) from December 15, 2020 to January 15, 2021 using a comparative cross-sectional study design. We collected data on the number of clients getting different essential health care services from May to October 2019 (Pre COVID) and the same period in 2020 (during a COVID-19 pandemic) from the patient registry book. The analysis was done with SPSS version 24 software.ResultOverall, the essential services of SPHMMC were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The most affected service is inpatient admission, which showed a 73.3% (2044 to 682) reduction from the pre-COVID period and the least affected is maternal service, which only decreased by 13% (3671 to 3177). During the 6 months after the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a progressive increment in the number of clients getting essential health services.Conclusion and recommendationThe establishment of a triple setup for fighting against COVID-19, which encompasses non-COVID services, an isolation center and a COVID-19 treatment center, played a vital role in preserving essential health services.

Highlights

The outbreak of pneumonia of an unknown ethology was reported in December 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China [1]
Taking an average of six months from (COVID) season to season, this study analyzed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on six essential services provided at SPHMMC
When we compared the number of patients receiving essential health services six months after COVID-19 emerged, we found a gradual increase in all services except maternal services, which fell by 13%

Summary

Introduction

The outbreak of pneumonia of an unknown ethology was reported in December 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China [1]. A novel coronavirus, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), was identified as the causative virus for the pandemic in China and other parts of the world by the World Health Organization (WHO) [2]. As of March 25, 2021, more than 235 countries/territories are affected with more than 120,383,289 cases and. 4,124,997 COVID-19 cases and more than 109,586 deaths were reported across the continent. 13, 2020 a COVID-19 positive case was first reported in Ethiopia. As of March 25, 2021, a total of 187,365 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 2657 deaths were recorded in the country [3]. The. COVID-19 pandemic and associated response can have a significant downstream effect on access to routine health care services, and indirectly cause morbidity and mortality from causes other than the disease itself, especially in resource-poor countries such as Ethiopia. This study aimed to explore the impact of the pandemic on these services and measures taken to combat the effect

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