Effect on essential health services during COVID-19 at the Primary level in India

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus diesease (COVID-19) led to increased demand on the Indian health system due to the pandemic as well as other communicable and non-communicable diseases. Guidance was thus issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), India, in April 2020 to maintain the deliver...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Ahmed, Tarannum, Dumka, Neha, Bhagat, Deepak, Hannah, Erin, Kotwal, Atul
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Wolters Kluwer - Medknow 2022
Materias:
Original Article
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9731057/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36505582
http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_390_22
Descripción
Sumario:BACKGROUND: Coronavirus diesease (COVID-19) led to increased demand on the Indian health system due to the pandemic as well as other communicable and non-communicable diseases. Guidance was thus issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), India, in April 2020 to maintain the delivery of essential health services. OBJECTIVES: To determine the extent of disruptions of essential healthcare services, identify associated factors, and establish pertinent correlations to address specific needs. METHODS: The Mother and child tracking facilitation centre (MCTFC) conducted a telephonic survey with the front-line workers (FLWs) and beneficiaries in 21 Indian states. The sample size was determined using the infinite population sample size formula, and respondents were selected through a computer-generated random sequence technique. Data were quantitatively analysed using STATA-16. Descriptive univariate analysis was conducted using the Chi-square test. FINDINGS: The majority of the essential health services were being satisfactorily delivered by FLWs (N = 1596; accredited social health activist (ASHA) = 798, auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM) = 798), where most of the beneficiaries (N = 1410; Pregnant Women = 708, Postnatal Women = 702) continued accessing services with minor issues concerning referral transport. FLWs reported issues in the provisioning of medicines (P = 0.000) for patients with non-communicable diseases and more ANMs than ASHAs reported it. FLWs commonly experienced challenges in extending services due to community resistance and unavailability of general health services at healthcare facilities, where a greater number of ASHAs faced it (P = 0.000). Both FLWs and beneficiaries (N = 3006; FLWs = 1596, beneficiaries = 1410) demonstrated appropriate COVID-19 knowledge and behavior. CONCLUSION: Although overwhelmed, the Indian health system performed satisfactorily well during pandemic in terms of essential health services.

Ejemplares similares