The impact of COVID‑19 on health service utilization in sub‑Saharan Africa : a scoping review

Title data

Elliot Koranteng, Tannor ; Amuasi, John ; Busse, Reinhard ; Opoku, Daniel ; Ofori, Emmanuel ; Gyan, Kwadwo Faka ; Aikins, Minas ; Hutton-Mensah, Kojo ; Opare‑Addo, Priscilla ; Quentin, Wilm:
The impact of COVID‑19 on health service utilization in sub‑Saharan Africa : a scoping review.
In: BMC Global and Public Health. (2024) Issue 2 . - 51.
ISSN 2731-913X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s44263-024-00083-0

Official URL:

Abstract in another language

Despite comparatively low rates of COVID-19 admissions and recorded deaths in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the pandemic still had significant impact on health service utilization (HSU). The aim of this scoping review is to synthesize the available evidence of HSU in SSA during the pandemic, focusing on types of studies, changes in HSU compared with the pre-pandemic period, and changes among specific patient groups.

Methods

The scoping review was guided by the methodological framework for conducting scoping reviews developed
by Arksey and O’Malley. We identified relevant studies through a search of PubMed (MEDLINE), Embase, Scopus,
and Web of Science. We then provided a general descriptive overview of the extracted data focusing on the types
of studies, patient groups, and change in HSU.

Results

We identified 262 studies reporting on HSU in 39 SSA countries. Studies were mainly quantitative (192;
73.3%), involving multiple centers (163; 62.2%), conducted in hospitals (205; 78.2%), and in urban settings (121;
46.2%). The median number of participants was 836.5 (IQR: 101.5–5897) involving 62.5% females. Most studies (92;
35.1%) focused on communicable diseases and mainly among outpatients (90; 34.2%). Maternal and child health
studies formed the largest patient group (58; 22.1%) followed by people living with HIV (32; 12.2%). Change in HSU was reported in 249 (95.0%) studies with 221 (84.4%) studies reporting a decrease in HSU. The median decrease
in HSU was 35.6% (IQR: 19.0–55.8) and median increase was 16.2% (IQR: 9.1–31.9). The patient group with the largest
percentage decrease was cardiovascular diseases (68.0%; IQR: 16.7–71.1) and the lowest percentage decrease
was in patients with infections (27.0%; IQR: 16.6–45.6).

Conclusions

A large body of literature is available on the effects of the pandemic on HSU in SSA. Most studies report
decreases in HSU during the pandemic. However, patterns differ widely across disease categories, patient groups,
and during different time periods of the pandemic.

Further data

Item Type:	Article in a journal
Refereed:	Yes
Keywords:	Sub-Saharan Africa; Health service utilization; COVID-19 pandemic
Institutions of the University:	Faculties > Faculty of Law, Business and Economics > Chair Planetary and Public Health Faculties > Faculty of Law, Business and Economics > Chair Planetary and Public Health > Chair Planetary and Public Health - Univ.-Prof. Dr. med. Wilm Quentin Faculties Faculties > Faculty of Law, Business and Economics
Result of work at the UBT:	Yes
DDC Subjects:	600 Technology, medicine, applied sciences > 610 Medicine and health
Date Deposited:	21 Sep 2024 21:00
Last Modified:	23 Sep 2024 05:44
URI:	https://eref.uni-bayreuth.de/id/eprint/90465