Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38605406›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2024

Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on utilization of essential health services in Iran evidence from an interrupted time series analysis.

Mohammad Ranjbar, Seyed Masood Mousavi, Farzan Madadizadeh, Nahid Hosseini Dargani, Samaneh Iraji, Blake Angell, Yibeltal Assefa

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In one paragraph

Article in BMC public health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Mohammad RanjbarDepartment of Health Management and Economics, Health Policy & Management Research Center, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
Seyed Masood MousaviDepartment of Health Management and Economics, Health Policy & Management Research Center, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
Farzan MadadizadehDepartment of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Center for Healthcare Data Modeling, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
Nahid Hosseini DarganiDepartment of Health Management and Economics, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran. hosseininahid40@gmail.com.
Samaneh IrajiYazd Health District, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
Blake AngellCentre for Health Systems Science, the George Institute for Global Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
Yibeltal AssefaSchool of Public Health, the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe COVID-19 disrupted the provision of essential health services in numerous countries, potentially leading to outbreaks of deadly diseases. This study aims to investigate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the utilization of essential health services in Iran.

methodsAn analytical cross-sectional study was conducted using interrupted time series (ITS) analysis. Data about five indicators, including 'childhood vaccination, infant care, hypertension screening, diabetes screening, and breast cancer screening,' were obtained from the electronic health record System in two-time intervals: 15 months before (November 2018 to January 2020) and 15 months after (January 2020 to May 2021) the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The data were analyzed by utilizing ITS. In addition, a Poisson model was employed due to the usage of count data. The Durbin-Watson (DW) test was used to identify the presence of lag-1 autocorrelation in the time series data. All statistical analysis was performed using R 4.3.1 software, considering a 5% significance level.

resultsThe ITS analysis showed that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected the utilization of all essential health services (P < 0.0001). The utilization of hypertension screening (RR = 0.51, p < 0.001), diabetes screening (RR = 0.884, p < 0.001), breast cancer screening (RR = 0.435, p < 0.001), childhood vaccination (IRR = 0.947, p < 0.001), and infant care (RR = 1.666, p < 0.001), exhibited a significant decrease in the short term following the pandemic (P < 0.0001). However, the long-term trend for all service utilization, except breast cancer screening (IRR = 0.952, p < 0.001), demonstrated a significant increase.

conclusionsThe COVID-19 pandemic affected utilization of essential health care in Iran. It is imperative to utilize this evidence to develop policies that will be translated into targeted planning and implementation to sustain provision and utilization of essential health services during public health emergencies. It is also vital to raise awareness and public knowledge regarding the consequences of interruptions in essential health services. In addition, it is important to identify the supply- and demand-side factors contributing to these disruptions.

Indexed as

Breast NeoplasmsCOVID-19Diabetes MellitusHypertensionCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHealth ServicesHumansInterrupted Time Series AnalysisIranPandemicsCOVID-19 pandemicEssential health servicesInterrupted time series analysisUtilization

Identifiers

PMID38605406
PMCPMC11008029

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.