Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Aug 29;17(8):e0273389.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273389. eCollection 2022.

Competing health risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and early response: A scoping review

Stefan Baral  1 , Amrita Rao  1 , Jean Olivier Twahirwa Rwema  1 , Carrie Lyons  1 , Muge Cevik  2 , Anna E Kågesten  3 , Daouda Diouf  4 , Annette H Sohn  5 , Refilwe Nancy Phaswana-Mafuya  6   7 , Adeeba Kamarulzaman  8 , Gregorio Millett  9 , Julia L Marcus  10 , Sharmistha Mishra  11
Affiliations

Competing health risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and early response: A scoping review

Stefan Baral et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 has rapidly emerged as a global public health threat with infections recorded in nearly every country. Responses to COVID-19 have varied in intensity and breadth, but generally have included domestic and international travel limitations, closure of non-essential businesses, and repurposing of health services. While these interventions have focused on testing, treatment, and mitigation of COVID-19, there have been reports of interruptions to diagnostic, prevention, and treatment services for other public health threats.

Objectives: We conducted a scoping review to characterize the early impact of COVID-19 on HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, sexual and reproductive health, and malnutrition.

Methods: A scoping literature review was completed using searches of PubMed and preprint servers (medRxiv/bioRxiv) from November 1st, 2019 to October 31st, 2020, using Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms related to SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 and HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, sexual and reproductive health, and malnutrition. Empiric studies reporting original data collection or mathematical models were included, and available data synthesized by region. Studies were excluded if they were not written in English.

Results: A total of 1604 published papers and 205 preprints were retrieved in the search. Overall, 8.0% (129/1604) of published studies and 10.2% (21/205) of preprints met the inclusion criteria and were included in this review: 7.3% (68/931) on HIV, 7.1% (24/339) on tuberculosis, 11.6% (26/224) on malaria, 7.8% (19/183) on sexual and reproductive health, and 9.8% (13/132) on malnutrition. Thematic results were similar across competing health risks, with substantial indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and response on diagnostic, prevention, and treatment services for HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, sexual and reproductive health, and malnutrition.

Discussion: COVID-19 emerged in the context of existing public health threats that result in millions of deaths every year. Thus, effectively responding to COVID-19 while minimizing the negative impacts of COVID-19 necessitates innovation and integration of existing programs that are often siloed across health systems. Inequities have been a consistent driver of existing health threats; COVID-19 has worsened disparities, reinforcing the need for programs that address structural risks. The data reviewed here suggest that effective strengthening of health systems should include investment and planning focused on ensuring the continuity of care for both rapidly emergent and existing public health threats.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

In terms of competing interests, Annette Sohn and Gregorio Millett report funding from ViiV Healthcare. Julia Marcus has consulted in the past for Kaiser Permanente Northern California on a research grant from Gilead Sciences. All other authors report no competing interests.

Update of

References

    1. Dong E, Du H, Gardner L. An interactive web-based dashboard to track COVID-19 in real time. The Lancet Infectious Diseases. 2020;20(5):533–4. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30120-1 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hale T, Angrist N, Goldszmidt R, Kira B, Petherick A, Phillips T, et al.. A global panel database of pandemic policies (Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker). Nat Hum Behav. doi: 10.1038/s41562-021-01079-8 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kazi DS, Wadhera RK, Shen C, Ho KKL, Patell R, Selim MH, et al.. Decline in Emergent and Urgent Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic. medRxiv. 2020:2020.05.14.20096602. doi: 10.1101/2020.05.14.20096602 - DOI
    1. Hartnett KP, Kite-Powell A, DeVies J, Coletta MA, Boehmer TK, Adjemian J, et al.. Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Emergency Department Visits—United States, January 1, 2019-May 30, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020;69(23):699–704. Epub 2020/06/12. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6923e1 ; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7315789 Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hungerford D, Cunliffe NA. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)—impact on vaccine preventable diseases. Euro Surveill. 2020;25(18). Epub 2020/05/14. doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.18.2000756 ; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7219030. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types