AI Article Synopsis

  • The political crisis in Peru, starting in 2016, weakened the health system, which was further tested by the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting maternal and child health (MCH) services.
  • A study analyzing health facility data revealed a significant drop in the use of MCH services in 2020, particularly in antenatal care and skilled birth assistance, with the most affected region being the Rainforest.
  • Despite the decline in 2020, service utilization rebounded in 2021, returning to pre-pandemic levels, emphasizing the importance of enhancing health system resilience for future challenges.

Article Abstract

Background: The resilience of Peru´s health system was weakened by a political crisis that started in 2016 and was further challenged by the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We assessed the indirect impact of the pandemic on the utilisation of essential maternal and child health (MCH) services in Peru at national and subnational levels.

Methods: We assessed the trends in MCH services utilisation and the percentage change from 2018 to 2021, using routine health facility data. We used an interrupted time series analysis to quantify the impact of COVID-19 on the utilisation of health services.

Results: The utilisation of most maternal and child health services dropped dramatically in 2020 after the outbreak. However, we observed a quick recovery in 2021, with service utilisation fairly similar or higher to the pre-pandemic period (2018-2019). The decrease was higher in the utilisation of antenatal care visit one or more (incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 0.79; 95% CI = 0.74-0.83) and antenatal care visits four or more (IRR= 0.76; 95% = 0.74-0.79) in 2020. The IRR showed a drop of 5, 6, 9, and 13% in the utilisation of skilled birth attendances, institutional deliveries, caesarean sections and postnatal care visits within two days of childbirth, respectively in 2020 in comparison to pre-pandemic service utilisation. In 2020 the utilisation decreased in all three natural regions, with the Rainforest being the most affected. In 2021 there was a recovery in all natural regions.

Conclusions: The pandemic decreased the utilisation of essential maternal and child health services in Peru. This highlights the need to preserve the resilience of a health system both at central and local levels, to face more successfully future pandemics.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11659789PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.7189/jogh.14.05039DOI Listing

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