Essential health services delivery in South Africa during COVID-19: Community and healthcare worker perspectives
Date
2022-12-08
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Abstract
Background: Between May 2020 and February 2022, South Africa’s health
system bore strain as it battled mitigating the coronavirus pandemic. The
country’s pandemic response was scrutinized. This period also brought into
focus pre-existing shortcomings in the healthcare system and its governing
bodies. Contextually, there is a paucity in literature on the experiences of
healthcare providers and users. This study aimed to contribute information on
COVID-19, with the intention of providing guidance on preparing for future
infectious disease outbreaks.
Methods: Cross sectional exploratory qualitative methodology was employed
using semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with community
members (CM) and healthcare workers (HCW) from two South African study
sites: (a) rural Bushbuckridge (run by Agincourt Health and Socio-Demographic
Surveillance Site) and (b), Regions D and F in Johannesburg Metropole.
Results: After interviewing 42 CMs and 43 HCWs, it emerged that mandated
process changes while minimizing COVID-19 exposure, necessitated
healthcare personnel focusing on critical care treatment at the expense of
less acute ones. COVID-19 isolation protocols, extensive absenteeism and
HCWs with advanced skills being perceived as more adept to treat COVID-19
patients contributed to HCWs experiencing higher workloads. Fears regarding
contracting and transmitting COVID-19, suering financial losses, and not
being able to provide adequate advice to patients were recurrent themes.
Dissemination of relevant information among healthcare facility personnel
and communities suered due to breakdowns in communication.
Conclusion: Concessions and novel strategies to avail medication to patients
had to be created. Since providence was lacking, government needs to formulate health intervention strategies that embrace health literacy, alternate
methods of chronic medication dispensation, improved communication
across health care platforms and the use of telehealth, to circumvent the
threats of possible further infectious disease outbreaks.