Postnatal care services availability and utilization during the COVID-19 era in sub-Saharan Africa: A rapid review.
Tafadzwa Dzinamarira, Enos Moyo, Gashema Pierre and 6 others
PMID 36253282WHAT IT FOUND
Postnatal care availability and use fell in many sub-Saharan African studies during COVID-19.
Families reported closures, transport problems, fear, and longer waits. Some studies found no drop in immunization use.
Key findings
01Four studies analyzing primary data reported significant declines in the availability of postnatal care services during and after COVID-19 lockdown.
02Postnatal care utilization declines were reported in several studies, including declines of 16-18% in Ethiopia and 30-50% in Nigeria.
03Not all included studies showed reduced use: a Uganda record review did not confirm a decline in postnatal care services, specifically immunization, and a Kenya study found no difference in immunization utilization.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The review searched only three databases and included only English-language papers, so it may have missed relevant studies. The authors did not assess risk of bias or study quality, so the reliability of individual included studies was not judged. The included studies differed by country, pandemic timing, design, and outcome, including qualitative and service data, so the findings could not be combined into one estimate. Some studies found declines while others did not confirm reduced immunization use, so the pattern varied by service and place. The review covers sub-Saharan Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic, so it may not reflect postnatal care availability or use in other regions or after pandemic restrictions.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the reported declines as proof that every postnatal service fell everywhere. Some studies found no decline in immunization use, and this review did not test whether home visits or telemedicine improved care.