Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Covid-19 Disrupted Provision And Utilization Of Health And Nutrition Services In Uttar Pradesh, India: Insights From Service Providers, Household Phone Surveys, And Administrative Data, Phuong H. Nguyen, Shivani Kachwaha, Anjali Pant, Lan M. Tran, Monika Walia, Sebanti Ghosh, Praveen K. Sharma, Jessica Escobar-Alegria, Edward A. Frongillo Jr., Purnima Menon, Rasmi Avula

Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic may substantially affect health systems, but little primary evidence is available on disruption of health and nutrition services. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to 1) determine the extent of disruption in provision and utilization of health and nutrition services induced by the pandemic in Uttar Pradesh, India; and 2) identify how adaptations were made to restore service provision in response to the pandemic. METHODS: We conducted longitudinal surveys with frontline workers (FLWs, n = 313) and mothers of children < 2 y old (n = 659) in December 2019 (in-person) and July 2020 (by phone). We also interviewed block-level managers and obtained administrative data. We examined changes in service provision and utilization using Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank tests. RESULTS: Compared with prepandemic, service provision reduced substantially during lockdown (83-98 percentage points, pp), except for home visits and take-home rations (∼ 30%). Most FLWs (68%-90%) restored service provision in July 2020, except for immunization and hot cooked meals (< 10%). Administrative data showed similar patterns of disruption and restoration. FLW fears, increased workload, inadequate personal protective equipment (PPE), and manpower shortages challenged service provision. Key adaptations made to provide services were delivering services to beneficiary homes (∼ 40%-90%), social distancing (80%), and using PPE (40%-50%) and telephones for communication (∼ 20%). On the demand side, service utilization reduced substantially (40-80 pp) during the lockdown, but about half of mothers received home visits and food supplementation. Utilization for most services did not improve after the lockdown, bearing the challenges of limited travel (30%), nonavailability of services (26%), and fear of catching the virus when leaving the house (22%) or meeting service providers (14%). CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 disrupted the provision and use of health and nutrition services in Uttar Pradesh, India, despite adaptations to restore services. Strengthening logistical support, capacity enhancement, performance management, and demand creation are needed to improve service provision and utilization during and post-COVID-19.

Increased Risk Of Death Triggered By Domestic Violence, Hunger, Suicide, Exhausted Health System During Covid-19 Pandemic: Why, How And Solutions, Kenneth Bitrus David, Abdullahi Tunde Aborode, Damilola Quazeem Olaoye, Ndikpongkeabasi Victor Enang, Aboaba Kazeem Oriyomi, Ismaeel Yunusa

Faculty Publications

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections, just like many other public health emergencies, is a well-established global health burden that has resulted in several changes in routines and lifestyles of people globally. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by SARS-CoV-2, has directly or indirectly involved in the loss of lives of more than 3.24 million as of 6th May, 2021. The increasing threats posed by this pandemic were subsided by the swift and drastic measures put in place by different countries. As other causes of death before the emergence of COVID-19 still exist, the pandemic has further worsened …

Repurposing Of Antibiotics For Clinical Management Of Covid-19: A Narrative Review, Abdourahamane Yacouba, Ahmed Olowo-Okere, Ismaeel Yunusa Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Background: Drug repurposing otherwise known as drug repositioning or drug re-profling is a time-tested approach in drug discovery through which new medical uses are being established for already known drugs. Antibi‑ otics are among the pharmacological agents being investigated for potential anti-SARS-COV-2 activities. The antibiot‑ ics are used either to resolve bacterial infections co-existing with COVID-19 infections or exploitation of their potential antiviral activities. Herein, we aimed to review the various antibiotics that have been repositioned for the manage‑ ment of COVID-19.

Methods: This literature review was conducted from a methodical search on PubMed and Web of Science regarding antibiotics …