Health system resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic: A comparative analysis of disruptions in care from 32 countries.

Objective: To quantify disruptions in hospitalization and ambulatory care throughout the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic for 32 countries, and examine associations of health system characteristics and COVID-19 response strategies on disruptions.

Data Sources: We utilized aggregated inpatient hospitalization and surgical procedure data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Health Database from 2010 to 2021. Covariate data were extracted from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Health Database, World Health Organization, and Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker.

Pandemic preparedness improves national-level SARS-CoV-2 infection and mortality data completeness: a cross-country ecologic analysis.

Background: Heterogeneity in national SARS-CoV-2 infection surveillance capabilities may compromise global enumeration and tracking of COVID-19 cases and deaths and bias analyses of the pandemic's tolls. Taking account of heterogeneity in data completeness may thus help clarify analyses of the relationship between COVID-19 outcomes and standard preparedness measures.

Methods: We examined country-level associations of pandemic preparedness capacities inventories, from the Global Health Security (GHS) Index and Joint External Evaluation (JEE), on SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 death data completion rates adjusted for income.

Novel point-of-care cytokine biomarker lateral flow test for the screening for sexually transmitted infections and bacterial vaginosis: study protocol of a multicentre multidisciplinary prospective observational clinical study to evaluate the performance and feasibility of the Genital InFlammation Test (GIFT).

Introduction: A prototype lateral flow device detecting cytokine biomarkers interleukin (IL)-1α and IL-1β has been developed as a point-of-care test-called the Genital InFlammation Test (GIFT)-for detecting genital inflammation associated with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and/or bacterial vaginosis (BV) in women. In this paper, we describe the rationale and design for studies that will be conducted in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Madagascar to evaluate the performance of GIFT and how it could be integrated into routine care.

Methods And Analysis: We will conduct a prospective, multidisciplinary, multicentre, cross-sectional and observational clinical study comprising two distinct components: a biomedical ('diagnostic study') and a qualitative, modelling and economic ('an integration into care study') part.

"Emotional stress is more detrimental than the virus itself": A qualitative study to understand HIV testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use among internal migrant men in South Africa.

Introduction: South Africa has one of the highest rates of internal migration on the continent, largely comprised of men seeking labour in urban centres. South African men who move within the country (internal migrants) are at higher risk than non-migrant men of acquiring HIV yet are less likely to test or use pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). However, little is known about the mechanisms that link internal migration and challenges engaging in HIV services.