Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on HIV care in Guatemala

Medina, Narda; Alastruey‐Izquierdo, Ana; Bonilla, Oscar; Ortíz, Brenan; Gamboa, Osmar; Salazar, Luis Roberto; Mercado, Danicela; Pérez, Juan Carlos Domínguez; Denning, David W.; Arathoon, Eduardo; Rodríguez-Tudela, Juan Luis

doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2021.06.011

Cited by 21 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…The findings of other studies also indicated that HIV testing services were reduced during the first season of the COVID-19 pandemic. 10 , 19–21 This could be because government-mandated lockdowns, which are intended to prevent the spread of COVID-19, have had a wide-range impact on health-care delivery. Furthermore, there was widespread public concern about contracting COVID-19 and being diagnosed with the condition, which resulted in a significant drop in VCT.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The mean difference of HIV PICT also sustained between the years 2019 and 2021. different findings also showed that HIV PICT service was similarly lowered during the first season of the COVID-19 epidemic. 19 , 23 This could be because government-mandated lockdowns, which are intended to prevent the spread of COVID-19, have had a wide-ranging impact on health-care delivery. As a result, COVID-19 infection has had a substantial impact on HIV PICT services.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Effect of COVID-19 on Routine HIV Care Services from Health Facilities in Northwest Ethiopia

Adugna¹,

Azanaw²,

Melaku³

2021

HIV

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Background There is mounting evidence that the risk of death from COVID-19 among people with HIV could be as much as twice that of the general population. Recent evidence revealed that HIV services has been decreased by 75% and the problem is much more extensive in Ethiopia since most of the logistics for HIV services and fund donated by the good will of NGOs. Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on HIV services is a crucial first step to draw appropriate intervention. Thus, this study aimed to assess the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on HIV services in northwest Ethiopia. Methods An institution-based repeated cross-sectional study was conducted in Gondar city in August 2021. The DHIS-2 system, operated by FMOH contains data from all the nine health facilities for HIV care was used to extract data from the central repository. Excel data was exported to STATA 14 for analysis. We calculated indicators of HIV services, representing the 12 months pre-COVID 19 (2019) and 16 months during the COVID-19 period (2020 and 2021). ANOVA was used to detect the presence of significant mean differences between those periods. Assumptions of ANOVA was checked. The statistical significance was declared at 95% confidence interval (CI), p-value less than 0.05. Results The mean difference was significant within HIV_VCT, HIV_PICT, ART between the years 2019 before COVID-19 and 2020 during COVID-19 (p-value < 0.05). HIV_VCT, ART variability was substantial between the years 2019 and 2021 (p-value < 0.05). Conclusion COVID-19 seriously affected all aspects of HIV service uptake such as HIV VCT, HIV PICT, ART, newly started ART, TB screening, and lost to ART follow-up. This study urges optimizing ART delivery mitigation with the ongoing COVID-19 in Ethiopia and beyond, in order to maintain progress toward HIV epidemic control.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of COVID-19 on Routine HIV Care Services from Health Facilities in Northwest Ethiopia

Adugna¹,

Azanaw²,

Melaku³

2021

HIV

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“…Although these measures are considered necessary to control the epidemic, they can cause problems inadvertently affecting other public health programs; for example, many non-emergency outpatient clinical services were limited or suspended, many patients were assigned to receive remote treatment, drug supply was disrupted, budgets were reduced, virology laboratory priorities changed and most of their activities were directed toward COVID-19 diagnosis [ 8 ]. Most clinical staff were transferred to COVID-related activities, transportation was restricted, personal mobility was reduced; and generally, all parts of the health care system were affected [ 9 , 10 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on service delivery and treatment outcomes in people living with HIV: a systematic review

et al. 2023

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Introduction The COVID-19 epidemic and various control and mitigation measures to combat the widespread outbreak of the disease may affect other parts of health care systems. There is a concern that the COVID-19 pandemic could disrupt HIV services. Therefore, this study aimed to systematically evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on service delivery and treatment outcomes in people with HIV. Methods In this study, a systematic search was conducted using the keywords in the online databases including Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases. The retrieved articles underwent a two-step title/abstract and full-text review process, and the eligible papers were selected and included in the qualitative synthesis. Result We selected 16 studies out of 529 retrieved records that met the inclusion criteria for this review. Study populations of the selected studies were either HIV-positive patients or HIV clinics and healthcare providers. Most studies were focused on adhering to and obtaining medication and attending clinical appointments and their decrement during the pandemic. Other aspects of HIV care (alternative healthcare settings, viral suppression, psychological care, etc.) were discussed to a lesser extent by the included studies. Conclusion Interruption in in-person visits and medical follow-up services, loss of adherence to treatment, and subsequent increase in mortality due to the COVID-19 pandemic complications in PLHIV have led to growing concerns. Other challenges were psychological disorders such as anxiety and depression, an increase in substance abuse, and a rise in experienced stigma and discrimination. However, the use of telemedicine in some countries helps to alleviate the situation to some extent and is recommended in similar settings in the future.

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“…It is consistent with other studies. In Guatemala, the diagnostic services for HIV have been severely affected and have increased the deaths from opportunistic infections [ 23 ]. Ethiopia also reported a significant decrease in HIV testing and detection [ 12 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Response of Care Services for Patients with HIV/AIDS during a Pandemic: Perspectives of Health Staff in Bolivia

López

Solis-Soto

2022

IJERPH

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The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented crisis striking health services, generating risks of setbacks in health care and affecting the most vulnerable populations such as HIV patients. This study aims to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the operational management of health services for people living with HIV/AIDS in Cochabamba, Bolivia. We applied a qualitative approach using semi-structured in-depth interviews with ten key health professionals who care for patients with HIV/AIDS in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and uploaded to Atlas.ti software for analysis. We used an ethnographic approach within the interpretive paradigm to carry out the thematic analysis, considering the “Determinants of health systems resilience framework” of five dimensions developed by the World Health Organization. Even though the provision of services in public care services was not interrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic, health service delivery was severely affected. Digital technology could be used to compensate in urban areas. Regarding the distribution of medications, adaptative strategies to reduce patient complications were implemented. Unfortunately, the complementary tests availability was limited. The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on HIV/AIDS patient care services in Cochabamba, with repercussions for HIV treatment access and virologic suppression.

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Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on HIV care in Guatemala

Cited by 21 publications

References 14 publications

The Effect of COVID-19 on Routine HIV Care Services from Health Facilities in Northwest Ethiopia

The Effect of COVID-19 on Routine HIV Care Services from Health Facilities in Northwest Ethiopia

The impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on service delivery and treatment outcomes in people living with HIV: a systematic review

Response of Care Services for Patients with HIV/AIDS during a Pandemic: Perspectives of Health Staff in Bolivia

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