The role of primary health care in long-term care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic in 30 European countries: a retrospective descriptive study (Eurodata study)

Guisado-Clavero, Marina; Ares-Blanco, Sara; Serafini, Alice; Del Rio, Lourdes Ramos; Larrondo, Ileana Gefaell; Fitzgerald, Louise; Vinker, Shlomo; van Pottebergh, Gijs; Valtonen, Kirsi; Vaes, Bert; Yilmaz, Canan Tuz; Torzsa, Péter; Tilli, Paula; Sentker, Theresa; Seifert, Bohumil; Saurek-Aleksandrovska, Natalija; Sattler, Martin; Petricek, Goranka; Petrazzuoli, Ferdinando; Petek, Davorina; Perjés, Ábel; López, Naldy Parodi; Neves, Ana Luisa; Murauskienė, Liubovė; Lingner, Heidrun; Nessler, Katarzyna; Heleno, Bruno; Krztoń-Królewiecka, Anna; Kostić, Milena; Korkmaz, Büsra Çimen; Knežević, Snežana; Kirkovski, Aleksandar; Karathanos, Vasilis Trifon; Jandrić-Kočić, Marijana; Ivanna, Shushman; Ільков, Оксана; Hoffmann, Kathryn; Hanževački, Miroslav; Gómez-Johansson, Mila; Gjorgjievski, Dragan; Domeyer, Philippe-Richard J.; Peña, Maryher Delphin; Divjak, Asja Ćosić; Busneag, Iliana-Carmen; Brutskaya-Stempkovskaya, Elena; Bayen, Sabine; Bakola, Maria; Adler, Limor; Assenova, Radost; Astier-Peña, María Pilar; Gómez Bravo, Raquel

doi:10.1017/s1463423623000312

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Beyond that, the implications for long-term care facilities, as highlighted in this project, should not be disregarded and defining the workload is beneficial for all the professionals involved. 18 It is essential to establish standardized indicators to predict the impact on regular healthcare services. Furthermore, the provision of regular care is compromised when PHC practitioners are attending to and following up on COVID-19 patients as the availability of appointments may be reduced due to high demand 29 and the quality of care for chronic conditions and cancer screening can suffer negative consequences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Primary care indicators for disease burden, monitoring and surveillance of COVID-19 in 31 European countries: Eurodata Study

Ares-Blanco,

Guisado-Clavero,

Del Rio

et al. 2024

European Journal of Public Health

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Background During the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of patients received ambulatory treatment, highlighting the importance of primary health care (PHC). However, there is limited knowledge regarding PHC workload in Europe during this period. The utilization of COVID-19 PHC indicators could facilitate the efficient monitoring and coordination of the pandemic response. The objective of this study is to describe PHC indicators for disease surveillance and monitoring of COVID-19’s impact in Europe. Methods Descriptive, cross-sectional study employing data obtained through a semi-structured ad hoc questionnaire, which was collectively agreed upon by all participants. The study encompasses PHC settings in 31 European countries from March 2020 to August 2021. Key-informants from each country answered the questionnaire. Main outcome: the identification of any indicator used to describe PHC COVID-19 activity. Results Out of the 31 countries surveyed, data on PHC information were obtained from 14. The principal indicators were: total number of cases within PHC (Belarus, Cyprus, Italy, Romania and Spain), number of follow-up cases (Croatia, Cyprus, Finland, Spain and Turkey), GP’s COVID-19 tests referrals (Poland), proportion of COVID-19 cases among respiratory illnesses consultations (Norway and France), sick leaves issued by GPs (Romania and Spain) and examination and complementary tests (Cyprus). All COVID-19 cases were attended in PHC in Belarus and Italy. Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic exposes a crucial deficiency in preparedness for infectious diseases in European health systems highlighting the inconsistent recording of indicators within PHC organizations. PHC standardized indicators and public data accessibility are urgently needed, conforming the foundation for an effective European-level health services response framework against future pandemics.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This research is an integral part of the Eurodata study, whose primary objective is to investigate the role of PHC during the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe. 5 , 18 …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Primary care indicators for disease burden, monitoring and surveillance of COVID-19 in 31 European countries: Eurodata Study

Ares-Blanco,

Guisado-Clavero,

Del Rio

et al. 2024

European Journal of Public Health

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Diverse roles of Primary Health Care in COVID-19 vaccination across 28 European countries – Insights from the Eurodata study

Guisado-Clavero,

Gómez-Bravo,

Gefaell Larrondo

et al. 2024

European Journal of General Practice

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Background The COVID-19 vaccination campaign in several European countries involved collaboration between public health and Primary Health Care (PHC). Objective To highlight the role of PHC professionals in the COVID-19 vaccination rollout, specifically in terms of vaccine administration, communication and contributing to vaccination population coverage. Methods A descriptive retrospective study of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign across 28 European countries was conducted, covering data from December 2020 to November 2021. Data were collected by key informants recruited from each country, who were health professionals involved in their national vaccination campaigns. Utilising an ad-hoc semi-structured questionnaire, information was gathered on organisation, communication strategies, priority groups, vaccine types, and vaccination pathways in PHC. Results PHC participated in communication strategies in 10 out of 28 countries, and vaccination was voluntary in most of them. The priority groups for vaccination varied across Europe, and the availability of vaccines in PHC differed between countries within the European Union (EU) and non-EU countries. The BioNTech Pfizer vaccine was the most widely available vaccine in most countries, followed by Moderna and AstraZeneca. PHC administered COVID-19 vaccines to the population, being the nurses the most involved, followed by general practitioners. Vaccination appointments were available online in 18/28 or by phone in 15/28, direct appointments at health centres were available in 8/28. In several countries, healthcare professionals who administered vaccines were given extra compensation for their role. Conclusion PHC professionals played a crucial role in the successful distribution and administration of COVID-19 vaccines in European countries.

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COVID-19 pandemic – Cocktail of variants, a study from Northern India

Chaudhary,

Gulati,

Gupta

et al. 2024

Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care

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Context: The aim of the study was to identify and monitor the circulating strains of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the samples received at our center and update the existing national and international genomic surveillance data. Introduction: SARS-CoV-2 is no exception to the basic nature of the viruses ability to change and evolve. Since its first report in December 2019 from Wuhan, China, multiple variants of the virus have emerged and been reported. Five variants of concern have been recognized and reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which are associated with variable degrees of transmissibility and mortality. Materials and Methods: Nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs received in viral transport medium at the Viral Research Diagnostic Laboratory were processed for reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction for SARS-CoV-2. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) was performed for selective positive samples using Oxford Nanopore sequencing technology, using MinKNOW software for data acquisition. Statistical Analysis: The clades were assigned using Nextclade v2.4.1 software. The statistical analysis was calculated using OpenEpi version 3, an open-source calculator, and two by two. Results: Variants reported over the study period included Alpha, Kappa, Delta, and Omicron. Delta dominated in the year 2021, while Omicron was the dominant variant in 2022. In both the dominant variants, asymptomatics contributed to around 30–40% of positives. Intensive care unit admissions and mortality were higher in the Delta variant, while vaccination history and travel history were higher in the patients with Omicron variant. Conclusion: The trend tracking of these variants has been important in view of public health, enabling early interventions to control the spread of the disease and foresight in preparation for the situation.

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The role of primary health care in long-term care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic in 30 European countries: a retrospective descriptive study (Eurodata study)

Cited by 3 publications

References 18 publications

Primary care indicators for disease burden, monitoring and surveillance of COVID-19 in 31 European countries: Eurodata Study

Primary care indicators for disease burden, monitoring and surveillance of COVID-19 in 31 European countries: Eurodata Study

Diverse roles of Primary Health Care in COVID-19 vaccination across 28 European countries – Insights from the Eurodata study

COVID-19 pandemic – Cocktail of variants, a study from Northern India

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