Abstract
Purpose: The goal of this study was to evaluate the impact of the 2020 Covid-19 outbreak in Cameroon on the continuity of Maternal and Neonatal Health Services (MNHS) at the Cite-Verte Health District.Problem: The advent of this pandemic has threatened the progress made so far in reducing maternal and neonatal mortality meanwhile the continued provision of MNHS is a predominant solution to support and improve the health of women and girls [1,2].Methods: A mixed study was carried out with 11 MNHS users and 4 health facilities in the Cite-verte health district. The indicators of MNHS continuity were listed using a questionnaire, a Dhis2 data collection form and a semi-structured interview guide. Data were subject to SPSS analysis based on the comparison of MNHS continuity and manual content analysis.Results: Context-Based Theory guided the discussion of our results which showed an indirect impact of the pandemic on MNHS continuity, characterized by a drop in number of MNHS health personnel with a high turnover rate of 79% and a staff attack rate estimated at 8%. We also found MNHS disruptions due to stock shortage in 100% of health facilities surveyed, a statistically significant decrease of 9% (Diff = 0.09; P-value = 0.000; 95%; CI = [0.075; 0.104]) and 17% (Diff = 0.17; P-value = 0.000; 95%; CI = [0.076; 0.264]), respectively for the indicators of family planning and neonatal deaths, a decrease of 22% on first ANC attendance, a drop of 28% on skilled birth attendance, and finally, an increase of 65% on maternal mortality. Nevertheless, MNHS user needs were met as they managed to overcome the feeling of fear, stress and depression caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in hospital settings.Conclusion: To mitigate the impact of Covid-19 on MNHS continuity, health managers must be ready to recruit more personnel, provide more supplies, and emphasize on community involvement during the outbreak.
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