The impact of COVID-19 on health service utilization in sub-Saharan Africa-a scoping review.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Despite comparatively low rates of COVID-19 admissions and recorded deaths in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the pandemic still had significant impact on health service utilization (HSU). The aim of this scoping review is to synthesize the available evidence of HSU in SSA during the pandemic, focusing on types of studies, changes in HSU compared with the pre-pandemic period, and changes among specific patient groups.

Methods

The scoping review was guided by the methodological framework for conducting scoping reviews developed by Arksey and O'Malley. We identified relevant studies through a search of PubMed (MEDLINE), Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science. We then provided a general descriptive overview of the extracted data focusing on the types of studies, patient groups

SUBMITTER: Tannor EK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11622901 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature