Figure - available via license: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Content may be subject to copyright.
Source publication
Introduction: Evidence is being consolidated that shows that the utilisation of healthcare services has declined in low-income countries (LICs) during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly for mother, new-born, and child health (MNCH) services. Very little is known about the effects of the pandemic on healthcare utilisation in the Gambia, one of West...
Context in source publication
Context 1
... the decision to restrict the study to these two areas was determined by feasibility issues relating to the limited timeframe for the study and logistical challenges. Consequently, four health facilities were purposively selected from these two areas, to represent both public and private health facilities (see Table 3 below). ...Similar publications
Introduction:
Evidence is being consolidated that shows that the utilization of antenatal and immunization services has declined in low-income countries (LICs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Very little is known about the effects of the pandemic on antenatal and immunization service utilization in The Gambia. We set out to explore the COVID-19-rela...
Citations
... Rapidity for implementation of preventative measures variably affected routine care [6,7]. The uptake of antenatal services was variably influenced by personal, family, caregiver, societal, and informational factors [5,8,9]. Overall, it remains convincing that pregnancy carries risk for worse outcomes when infected with SARS-CoV-2, and pregnant women with advanced illness commonly have other concomitant risk factors [10]. ...
... Lower uptake could be attributed to frank misconceptions, high measured ratings of medical mistrust, lower topic-specific knowledge, perception of low infection risk, religious beliefs, family peer pressure, access irregularities, and work-related conflicts [55,85,105,107,114,116,120,122]. The imposition of non-vaccine infection prevention strategies was viewed by some as impediment to vaccine acceptance [8]. The latter was not unexpected given the generally overwhelming nature of pandemic impact. ...
Whereas pregnancy and the postpartum states may be generally associated with increased risk for adverse mental health, the COVID-19 pandemic was responsible for supernumerary concerns regarding stressors, anxiety, and depression. A cumulative international experience is becoming apparent. Given the variability of both qualitative and quantitative analyses for maternal psychosocial health during the pandemic, a narrative review was conducted to gauge the international experience and to draw inferences in regard to future initiatives and their implementation. Risk factors for increased maternal psychosocial dysfunction during the pandemic have been variably defined for diverse populations worldwide. Common among the latter were inability to access timely and trustworthy information and professional care, socioeconomic compromise, and lesser prepandemic educational status. The quality and quantity of personal contacts were mitigating factors. Confidence in preventative measures was key to reducing mental health adversity. Time-honored infection control strategies and SARS-CoV-2-specific vaccination contributed both to reduced infections in pregnancy and the postpartum and to a lessening of impact on psychosocial health. Pragmatic implementation and future planning of pandemic responses are key aspects of prevention for adverse psychosocial outcomes in overall maternal care.
