27 research outputs found
Utility of telemedicine in sub-Saharan Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic. A rapid review
Telemedicine is the use of technology to achieve remote care. This review looks at
the utility of telemedicine during the pandemic, period March 2020 to February
2021. Eleven articles met inclusion criteria. There was moderate use of telemedicine
in sub-Sahara Africa during the pandemic, however, there were also some limitations.
Benefits of telemedicine include continuing medical service provision, connecting relatives with loved ones in quarantine, education, and awareness of mental health
issues, and toxicovigilance and infection control. Challenges to the implementation of
telemedicine on the continent were lack of supporting telemedicine framework and
policies, digital barriers, and patient and healthcare personnel biases. To address
these challenges, this article proposes the development of policy frameworks that
fosters telemedicine use by all stakeholders, including medical insurance organizations, the introduction of telemedicine training of medical workers, educational
awareness programs for the public, and improvement of digital platforms access and
affordability
Towards virtual doctor consultations: A call for the scale-up of telemedicine in sub-Saharan Africa during COVID-19 lockdowns and beyond
The outbreak of COVID-19 has resulted in adoption and implementation of mitigatory policies, including movement restrictions (lockdowns) to curb its spread. These lockdowns have brought unintended consequences such as increasing the inequalities in health delivery. In the context of these restrictions, telemedicine provides an opportunity for continuation of essential health care provision. This review aimed to map available literature on the current status of telemedicine in sub-Saharan Africa to proffer recommendations for scale up during COVID-19 and beyond. Our review highlighted the lack of meaningful investment in the area. The literature identified resistance to telemedicine, infrastructural barriers, and the lack of policy and budgetary support as main deterrents to current implementation. We recommend the region to leverage on the rapid expansion of internet and telecommunication in addition to adopting a mix of strategies to set up an infrastructure for providing scale up of telemedicine and overcome barriers to implementation. There is an urgent need for policy formulation and the provision of budgetary support through sustainable business models
COVID-19 risk factors among health workers: A rapid review
Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) poses an important occupational health risk to health workers (HWs) that has attracted global scrutiny. To date, several thousand HWs globally have been reported as infected with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 virus that causes the disease. It is therefore a public health priority for policymakers to understand risk factors for this vulnerable group to avert occupational transmission. A rapid review was carried out on 20 April 2020 on Covid-19 risk factors among HWs in PubMed, Google Scholar, and EBSCOHost Web (Academic Search Complete, CINAHL Complete, MEDLINE with Full Text, CINAHL with Full Text, APA PsycInfo, Health Source—Consumer Edition, Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition) and WHO Global Database. We also searched for preprints on the medRxiv database. We searched for reports, reviews, and primary observational studies (case control, case cross-over, cross-sectional, and cohort). The review included studies conducted among HWs with Covid-19 that reported risk factors irrespective of their sample size. Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria. Lack of personal protective equipment, exposure to infected patients, work overload, poor infection control, and preexisting medical conditions were identified as risk factors for Covid-19 among HWs. In the context of Covid-19, HWs face an unprecedented occupational risk of morbidity and mortality. There is need for rapid development of sustainable measures that protect HWs from the pandemi
COVID‑19 Lockdowns: Impact on facility‑based HIV testing and the case for the scaling up of home‑based testing services in Sub‑Saharan Africa
In December 2019, China reported the emergence of a pneumonia of unknown cause in Wuhan [1]. By 7 January 2020, the etiology of the pneumonia was attributed to a virus of the coronavirus family, and later on the disease was named coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on 11 February 2020 by the WHO [2, 3]. The symptoms of COVID-19 appear after an average incubation period of 5.2 days [1]
Implementation of public health genomics in Africa : lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, challenges, and recommendations
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : Data sharing not applicable to this article as no data sets were
generated or analysed during the current study.Public Health Genomics (PHG) is a relatively new field. The wide application of genomic technologies played a pivotal role in elucidating the full genomic sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This breakthrough proved to be the starting point in the manufacture of diagnostic kits and the subsequent making of vaccines. Beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, many African countries can take advantage of the various investments in genomic technologies to introduce and intensify the use of genomics for public health gain. Public Health Genomics effectively monitors, prevents, and manages non-communicable and infectious diseases. However, there are several challenges to implementing PHG in Africa. In this perspective article, we discuss the utilization of PHG during the COVID-19 pandemic, the lessons learned from using PHG to manage and contain the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as potential challenges Africa may face when putting PHG into practice compared to challenges of other regions. We also discuss our recommendations for overcoming these challenges.https://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jmv2023-11-11hj2023School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH
Digital technologies and COVID-19 : reconsidering lockdown exit strategies for Africa
Widespread vaccination provides a means for
countries to lift strict COVID-19 restrictions
previously imposed to contain the spread of the
disease. However, to date, Africa has secured
enough COVID-19 vaccine doses for less than 5% of
its population. With widespread vaccination not on
the horizon for Africa, there is a strong emphasis on
non-pharmaceutical interventions which include
movement restrictions (lockdowns). This general
COVID-19 pandemic response of imposing
lockdowns, however, neglects to factor in non-fatal
consequences leading to disruption socio-economic
wellbeing of the society at large. The economy in
most African countries can no longer sustain
lockdown restrictions. Some studies have indicated
that a hard lockdown statistical value of the extra
lives saved would be dwarfed by its long-term cost.
At the same time not responding to the threat of the
pandemic will cost lives and disrupts the social
fabric. This paper proffers ways to mitigate the both
and advocate for better policymaking that
addresses specific challenges in defined
communities thus yield higher population welfare.https://www.panafrican-med-journal.compm2021School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH
Inappropriate Antibiotic Use in Zimbabwe in the COVID-19 Era: A Perfect Recipe for Antimicrobial Resistance
The global COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an upsurge in antimicrobial use. The increase in use is multifactorial, and is particularly related to the empirical treatment of SARS-CoV-2 and suspected coinfections with antimicrobials and the limited quality of diagnostics to differentiate viral and bacterial pneumonia. The lack of clear clinical guidelines across a wide range of settings, and the inadequacy of public health sectors in many countries, have contributed to this pattern. The increased use of antimicrobials has the potential to increase incidences of antimicrobial resistance, especially in low-resource countries such as Zimbabwe already grappling with multidrug-resistant micro-organism strains. By adopting the antimicrobial stewardship principles of the correct prescription and optimised use of antimicrobials, as well as diagnostic stewardship, revamping regulatory oversight of antimicrobial surveillance may help limit the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance during this pandemic
The HIV/AIDS responses pre and during the COVID-19 pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa : a basis for sustainable health system strengthening post–COVID-1
In May 2023, the World Health Organization announced that COVID-19 was no longer a global emergency. The impact of COVID-19 on the provision of HIV/AIDS services was not that severe due to the reprogramming of key resources. For health systems in sub-Saharan Africa to become resilient to future pandemics, lessons should be learned from the successful HIV/AIDS response in the region, and how the HIV/AIDS services were successfully adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this article, we reviewed the 6 World Health Organization health system building blocks on how the best practices from the provision of HIV/AIDS services and the services’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic can be used as a basis for restoring and strengthening health systems to offer universal access to quality essential health services. The success of the leadership and governance for universal access to anti-retroviral therapy can be a blueprint for the realization of universal health coverage. Significant efficiencies that resulted in the reduction in anti-retroviral therapy costs can be leveraged to ensure cheaper essential drugs while differentiated service delivery models can be used to improve health service accessibility. New technologies that have proven to be successful in HIV/AIDS care can also be used in the care of other diseases, including disease outbreaks. The strong health information systems developed for HIV programs can be used as a foundation for developing health information systems for the whole health sector while the healthcare professionals trained for the provision of HIV/AIDS services can be trained to provide services for a variety of other conditions.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ijregiSchool of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH
Inappropriate antibiotic use in Zimbabwe in the COVID-19 era : a perfect recipe for antimicrobial resistance
The global COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an upsurge in antimicrobial use. The increase in use is multifactorial, and is particularly related to the empirical treatment of SARSCoV-2 and suspected coinfections with antimicrobials and the limited quality of diagnostics to differentiate viral and bacterial pneumonia. The lack of clear clinical guidelines across a wide range of settings, and the inadequacy of public health sectors in many countries, have contributed to this pattern. The increased use of antimicrobials has the potential to increase incidences of antimicrobial resistance, especially in low-resource countries such as Zimbabwe already grappling with multidrugresistant micro-organism strains. By adopting the antimicrobial stewardship principles of the correct prescription and optimised use of antimicrobials, as well as diagnostic stewardship, revamping regulatory oversight of antimicrobial surveillance may help limit the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance during this pandemic.http://www.mdpi.com/journal/antibioticsSchool of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH
The role of social media during the COVID-19 pandemic : salvaging its 'power' for positive social behaviour change in Africa
The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic remains a significant global public health crisis. The unique evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic has seen social media emerging and growing into an important vehicle for rapid information dissemination. This has in turn given rise to multiple sources of information, leading to what has come to be known as 'infodemic', associated with the plethora of misinformation and conspiracy theories. In this perspective, we explore the growth of the social media industry and the impact it has had during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. We argue that while the multiple information pieces circulating on social media cause misinformation and panic, this might not necessarily and in all the cases influence sustained behaviours in the target population groups. We offer suggestions on how the power of social media can be harnessed and integrated into social and public health for a better digital balance for communication for development.https://hpp.tbzmed.ac.irSchool of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH