Impact of COVID-19 on the Utilization of HIV Testing and Linkage Services in Sierra Leone: Experience from Three Public Health Facilities in Freetown.
The COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected the delivery of essential health services globally. In this study, we aimed to assess the impact of the pandemic on HIV testing and linkage services at three public health facilities in Freetown, Sierra Leone. We conducted a retrospective study to assess the...
| Publicado en: | AIDS & Behavior Vol. 28; no. 4; pp. 1235 - 1244 |
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| Autores principales: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
| Formato: | pictorial research tables/charts Journal Article |
| Publicado: |
Springer Nature
Apr2024
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=176081869&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 176081869 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 10907165 G1T jtl: AIDS & Behavior issn: 10907165 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Apr2024 vid: 28 iid: 4 pid: 237 pub: Springer Nature place: New York, New York artinfo: ui: 176081869 170898265 176081869 176081869 10.1007/s10461-023-04149-2 176081869 ppf: 1235 ppct: 9 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P tig: atl: Impact of COVID-19 on the Utilization of HIV Testing and Linkage Services in Sierra Leone: Experience from Three Public Health Facilities in Freetown. aug: au: Lakoh, Sulaiman Bangura, Moses M. Adekanmbi, Olukemi Barrie, Umu Jiba, Darlinda F. Kamara, Matilda N. Sesay, Daniel Jalloh, Abdulai Tejan Deen, Gibrilla F. Russell, James B. W. Egesimba, Ginika Yendewa, George A. Firima, Emmanuel affil: https://ror.org/045rztm55 College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, University of Sierra Leone, Freetown, Sierra Leone sug: subj: COVID-19 Pandemic HIV Infections Diagnosis HIV Infections Prevention and Control Health Screening Hospitals, Public Africa, Western Health Services Accessibility Health Resource Utilization Public Health Health Services Cross Sectional Studies Africa, Western Retrospective Design Data Analysis Software Continuity of Patient Care Descriptive Statistics Human Male Female Child Adolescence Young Adult Adult Middle Age Aged Aged, 80 and Over HIV Infections Epidemiology Community Health Centers Child: 6-12 years Adolescent: 13-18 years Adult: 19-44 years Middle Aged: 45-64 years Aged: 65+ years Aged, 80 & over Male Female ab: The COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected the delivery of essential health services globally. In this study, we aimed to assess the impact of the pandemic on HIV testing and linkage services at three public health facilities in Freetown, Sierra Leone. We conducted a retrospective study to assess the impact of COVID-19 on HIV testing and linkage to treatment services (HTS) at Connaught Hospital (CH-tertiary), Lumley Government Hospital (LGH-secondary) and George Brooke Community Health Center (GBC-primary) in Freetown. Statistical analyses were conducted in Stata (16.1, StataCorp LLC, College Station, TX). Intra-pandemic HTS (2020) and HTS during recovery (2021) were compared with pre-pandemic HTS (2019). Of the 8538 people tested for HIV in the three facilities, 4929 (57.5%) visited CH. Only 2249 people were tested for HIV in 2020 compared to 3825 in 2019 (difference: − 41.2%, P < 0.001). Fewer people were also tested in 2021 (difference: − 35.6% P < 0.001). The largest reductions in testing in 2020 occurred in women (− 47.7%), children under 15 (− 95.2%), married people (− 42.6%), and CH (− 46.2%). Overall, 1369 (16.0%) people were positive for HIV; CH (878, 17.9%), LGH (469, 15.6%) and GBC (22, 3.5%). The likelihood of a positive HIV test was 26% lower in 2020 than 2019 (PR 0.74; 95% CI 0.64–0.85; P < 0.001), but 16% higher in 2021 than 2019 (PR 1.16; 95% CI 1.03–1.30; P < 0.05). Of the 1369 HIV diagnosis, 526 (38.4%) were linked to care. We found significant disruptions in HIV testing and linkage services at different levels of service delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic, underscoring the need to strengthen essential health services during public health emergencies. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: pictorial research tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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