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. 2022 Nov 23;12(11):e065031.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-065031.

Effects of COVID-19 on paediatric cardiac centres in low-income and middle-income countries: a mixed-methods study

Campbell Dopke  1   2 , Jean Connor  3 , Bistra Zheleva  4 , Kimberlee Gauvreau  3   5 , Bojana Bakalcheva  6 , Najeebullah Bina  7 , Gonzalo Calvimontes  8 , Ivana Cerovic  9 , Naizihijwa Majani  10 , Michael Oketcho  11 , Dimitar Pechilkov  12 , Fenny Shidhika  13 , Tengiz Shiryaev  14 , Kathy Jenkins  15   16
Affiliations

Effects of COVID-19 on paediatric cardiac centres in low-income and middle-income countries: a mixed-methods study

Campbell Dopke et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to understand the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on paediatric cardiac services in critical access centres in low-income and middle-income countries.

Design: A mixed-methods approach was used.

Setting: Critical access sites that participate in the International Quality Improvement Collaborative (IQIC) for congenital heart disease (CHD) were identified.

Participants: Eight IQIC sites in low-income and middle-income countries agreed to participate.

Outcome measures: Differences in volume and casemix before and during the pandemic were identified, and semistructured interviews were conducted with programme representatives and analysed by two individuals using NVivo software. The qualitative component of this study contributed to a better understanding of the centres' experiences and to identify themes that were common across centres.

Results: In aggregate, among the seven critical access sites that reported data in both 2019 and 2020, there was a 20% reduction in case volume, though the reduction varied among programmes. Qualitative analysis identified a universal impact for all programmes related to Access to Care/Clinical Services, Financial Stability and Professional/Personal Issues for healthcare providers.

Conclusions: Our study identified and quantified a significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on critical access to CHD surgery in low-income and middle-income countries, as well as a significant adverse impact on both the skilled workforce needed to treat CHD and on the institutions in which care is delivered. These findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has been a major threat to access to care for children with CHD in resource-constrained environments and that this effect may be long-lasting beyond the global emergency. Efforts are needed to preserve vulnerable CHD programmes even during unprecedented pandemic situations.

Keywords: COVID-19; Congenital heart disease; HEALTH SERVICES ADMINISTRATION & MANAGEMENT; Paediatric cardiology; Public health.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Volume of cases among the seven sites, March–November (2019 vs 2020).
Figure 2
Figure 2
RACHS-1 category, March–November (2019 vs 2020).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Age category, March–November (2019 vs 2020).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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