Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Health service use among the public can decline during outbreaks and had been predicted among low and middle-income countries during the COVID pandemic. In March , the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo DRC started implementing public health measures across Kinshasa, including strict lockdown measures in the Gombe health zone.
Using monthly time series data from the DRC Health Management Information System January to December and interrupted time series with mixed effects segmented Poisson regression models, we evaluated the impact of the pandemic on the use of essential health services outpatient visits, maternal health, vaccinations, visits for common infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases during the first wave of the pandemic in Kinshasa.
Analyses were stratified by age, sex, health facility and lockdown policy ie, Gombe vs other health zones. When the lockdown was lifted, total visits and visits for infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases increased approximately twofold.
Hospitals were more affected than health centres. Overall, the use of maternal health services and vaccinations was not significantly affected. Lifting of lockdown led to a rebound in the level of health service use but it remained lower than prepandemic levels. Keywords: COVID, health services research, health policy, health systems, infections, diseases, disorders, injuries. Substantial declines in the use of health services among the general population have been well documented during previous outbreaks of infectious diseases.
Modelled studies predicted substantial increases in morbidity and mortality in many low and middle-income countries LMICs mainly due to expected declines in the use of health services among the general population.
