difu+cienciaRepositorio Institucional Digital de la Universidad Evangélica Boliviana
Ficha
The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on frail health systems of low- and middle-income countries: The case of epilepsy in the rural areas of the Bolivian Chaco
Título
The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on frail health systems of low- and
middle-income countries: The case of epilepsy in the rural areas of the
Bolivian Chaco
middle-income countries: The case of epilepsy in the rural areas of the
Bolivian Chaco
Autoría
Alessandra Nicoletti
Valeria Todaro
Calogero Edoardo Cicero
Loretta Giuliano
Mario Zappia
Francesco Cosmi
Estela Vilte
Alessandro Bartoloni
Elizabeth Blanca Crespo Gómez
Descripción
The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has put some health systems under pressure, especially in low- and middle-income countries. We aimed at evaluating the impact of COVID-19 emergency on the management of people with epilepsy (PWE) living in the rural communities of the Gran Chaco area of the Plurinational State of Bolivia. Materials and methods: We selected a sample of PWE living in the rural communities of the Bolivian Chaco. A standardized questionnaire was developed, consisting of six questions addressing drug availability,
drug discontinuation, personnel responsible for drug retrieval during the lockdown, and the presence of seizures in the two months preceding the interview. Questionnaires were administered by community health workers of the rural health centers in September 2020.
Results: Seventy PWE (38 men, 54.3%; mean age 26.9 ± 16.7) were interviewed. During the lockdown the large majority of them (n = 51, 73.9%) reported an irregular medication intake mainly due to the lack of antiseizure medications in the local health posts, leading to an increase in seizure frequency.
Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has unmasked the frailty of the Bolivian health system, especially for the management of chronic diseases such as epilepsy in the rural communities.
drug discontinuation, personnel responsible for drug retrieval during the lockdown, and the presence of seizures in the two months preceding the interview. Questionnaires were administered by community health workers of the rural health centers in September 2020.
Results: Seventy PWE (38 men, 54.3%; mean age 26.9 ± 16.7) were interviewed. During the lockdown the large majority of them (n = 51, 73.9%) reported an irregular medication intake mainly due to the lack of antiseizure medications in the local health posts, leading to an increase in seizure frequency.
Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has unmasked the frailty of the Bolivian health system, especially for the management of chronic diseases such as epilepsy in the rural communities.
Formato
PDF
Idioma
Inglés
Editor
Epilepsy & Behavior 118 (2021) 107917
Identificador
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yebeh.2021.107917 1525-5050/_ 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved
Materia
Epilepsy Bolivia COVID-19 Health systems
Fecha de entrega
January 26, 2021
Fecha de aceptación
2021
