Perceptions of health care workers on maternal and child health services in Pakistan during COVID-19: A cross-sectional study

• Published in: Dialogues in health Vol. 3; p. 100145
• Main Authors: Ahmed, Jamil, Kumar, Ramesh, Mehraj, Vikram, Almarabheh, Amer, Khowaja, Sadiq Ali, Khan, Shahzad Ali, Naeem, Nawal, Pongpanich, Sathirakorn
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01-12-2023; Published by Elsevier Inc; Elsevier
• Subjects: And healthcare workers; Child health; Covid-19; Maternal health; Women health care; Women health care; Covid-19; Maternal health; And healthcare workers; Child health
• ISSN: 2772-6533; 2772-6533
• DOI: 10.1016/j.dialog.2023.100145

Maternal and child healthcare service delivery in vulnerable and fragile health systems has suffered a tremendous impact owing to the shift in focus to curtail the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal and child healthcare services to inform policy advice for a more resilient maternal and child healthcare service delivery in Pakistan.
A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted. A structured and validated questionnaire was transformed into an online version and a link was first sent to about 300 healthcare professionals to achieve a sample size of 203, including medical doctors, nurses, and other paramedical staff working in public sector health facilities of the four provinces of Pakistan. The questionnaire was responded to by 195 participants. The Chi-Square test was used to determine the statistical differences between the categorical variables.
Although about two-thirds of the participants reported a moderate adherence to protocols and procedures to prevent COVID-19 in their health facilities, the maternal and child health service delivery-related indicators declined during the pandemic. For instance, 66.8% and 62.4% of the participants, respectively, did not agree that a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and an Intensive Care Unit to admit sick newborns and women with obstetric complications during the COVID-19 pandemic were available during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, 23% and 20% of the participants, respectively, reported that staff availability and the provision of cesarean section were moderate to extremely affected. The association between job designation and the impact of COVID-19 was statistically significant (χ2 p = 0.038).
The study suggests that maternal and child healthcare services including C-Section, perinatal care, and inpatient care of newborns in Pakistan may have been moderately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.