Maintaining Essential Healthcare Services in Addis Ababa During COVID-19
Author Information
Author(s): Fenta Esete Habtemariam, Tassew Berhan, Abera Admas, Wolde Firmaye Bogale, Legesse Meseret, Pulford Justin, Mor Siobhan, Kaba Mirgissa
Primary Institution: School of Public Health, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Hypothesis
How did the health system in Addis Ababa respond to maintain essential healthcare services during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Conclusion
COVID-19 has affected the delivery of essential health services in multifaceted ways, but health system actors made efforts to sustain services while responding to the pandemic.
Supporting Evidence
- COVID-19 led to a decline in health service utilization due to fear of infection.
- Healthcare providers experienced stigma and fear, impacting their ability to deliver services.
- Adaptation strategies included prolonged prescriptions and community-based health services.
Takeaway
During COVID-19, people were scared to go to health facilities, which made it hard for them to get the care they needed, but health workers tried to keep services running.
Methodology
Qualitative study using 60 key informant interviews with stakeholders from health ministries and healthcare providers, analyzed through thematic analysis.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to reliance on key informant interviews from a limited demographic of healthcare professionals.
Limitations
The study only included perspectives from healthcare providers and did not capture community or patient perspectives.
Participant Demographics
53.34% female and 46.66% male, aged 25-45, with a mean age of 31.5 years.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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