Assessing the impact of COVID-19 on HIV care cascade for people living with HIV in Ethiopia: a retrospective longitudinal study

Objective
The study aimed to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on the cascade of HIV care for people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Ethiopia.

Design
A retrospective longitudinal study.

Setting
The study was conducted in North Showa Zone, Ethiopia, from pre-COVID-19 (January 2018–December 2019) and during COVID-19 (January 2020–December 2021).

Participants
We identified 61901 records from 3925 PLHIV, of which 23 848 were recorded during the pandemic.

Main outcome measure
We investigated indicators from four stages of the HIV care cascade, including HIV screening and diagnosis, HIV care, HIV treatment and HIV disease progression, according to a WHO framework. The indicator changes were assessed with incidence rate ratios (IRRs).

Results
For HIV screening and diagnosis, the monthly number of HIV tests experienced a 46% decline from 2520 to 1361 since the pandemic (IRR 0.553; 95% CI 0.546 to 0.561). For HIV care, the monthly number of consultations was reduced by 49.6% (from 1582 to 798) since the pandemic (IRR 0.591; 95% CI 0.581 to 0.601). Similarly, the monthly number of viral load tests was reduced by 42.8% (IRR 0.614; 95% CI 0.581 to 0.650). For HIV treatment, the number of antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiations was reduced by 27.8% and the number of ART adherence by 52.5% since the pandemic. For HIV disease progression, the monthly number of PLHIV achieving viral suppression was reduced by 61.6%, while HIV-related deaths doubled during the pandemic.

Conclusion
The study highlights pandemic-induced disruptions in the cascade of care for PLHIV. Targeted interventions are necessary to protect PLHIV in public health emergencies.

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Novembre 2024

[Articles] Incidence of post-acute COVID-19 symptoms across healthcare settings in seven countries: an international retrospective cohort study using routinely-collected data

Post-acute COVID-19 symptoms, as listed by the WHO, were commonly observed following COVID-19 infection. However, even after standardising research methods, there was significant heterogeneity in the incidence rates from different healthcare settings and geographical locations. This is the first international study of the epidemiology of post-acute COVID-19 symptoms using the WHO-listed symptoms. Its findings contibute to understand the epidemiology of this condition from a multinational approach.

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Ottobre 2024

Major financial problems, low mental well-being and reduced HIV/STI testing among sex workers in the Netherlands during the COVID-19 pandemic: a repeated cross-sectional survey

Objectives
To determine associations between the banning of sex work during the COVID-19 pandemic, and work, financial problems, mental well-being and HIV/sexually transmittable infection (STI) testing among sex workers in the Netherlands.

Design
Two cross-sectional online surveys. The first survey covered two time-periods: pre-COVID-19 (1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019) and period 1 (15 March 2020 to 1 July 2020). The second survey covered period 2 (1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021).

Setting
The Netherlands

Participants
In total, 106 (first survey) and 196 (second survey) sex workers participated. Most of the participants in the first and second survey were cisgender women (respectively, 76.4% and 66.5%), followed by cisgender men (respectively, 12.3% and 15.7%) and the combination of transgender men, transgender women, non-binary or other (respectively, 11.3% and 17.6%). Most participants were born in the Netherlands (respectively, 61.4% and 69.7%).

Primary and secondary outcome measures
We provide descriptive statistics of self-reported work during and prior to COVID-19 measures, financial problems due to COVID-19 measures and HIV/STI testing and mental well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also performed logistic and linear regression analyses to identify risk factors associated with reporting financial problems due to COVID-19 measures, not testing for HIV/STIs and lower mental well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results
In periods 1 and 2, respectively, 69.6% and 62.0% reported financial problems due to the COVID-19 measures. Among those who reported to have had sex with clients, the percentage not HIV/STI testing was: 4.5% (95% CI: 0.9; 12.5) pre-COVID-19, 28.2% (95% CI: 15.0; 44.9) in period 1, and 15.2% (95% CI: 9.7; 22.3) in period 2. In the multivariate analysis, reported financial problems due to the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with not HIV/STI testing (OR: 12.1, p

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Ottobre 2024

Disability, poverty and health-service accessibility in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: a population-based repeated cross-sectional study in Colombia

Objectives
In Colombia, 4.3% of the population 5 years or older lives with a disability. They face higher levels of poverty and social exclusion compared with persons without disabilities. This article aims to understand the factors associated with access to preventative and curative health services for people with disabilities in Colombia. Additionally, it explores whether access to health services for people with disabilities changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design
This is a population-based repeated cross-sectional study.

Setting
This study took place in Colombia, from 2018 to 2021.

Data sources and participants
National Quality of Life Survey datasets in Colombia from 2018 to 2021, including people 5 years or older, were reviewed. People were classified into three groups: person with any disability, person with multiple disabilities and person without disabilities.

Primary and secondary outcome measures
A multinomial regression model was used to calculate the probability of access to preventative services during the previous year in four categories: general practitioner (GP) and dentist, GP only, dentist only and no consultation. A logistic model for curative consultations with and without hospitalisation in people who reported having a health problem.

Results
People with disabilities demanded more preventative health services, except for dental services, compared with people without disabilities. Similarly, they experienced more health problems and demanded more curative services than people without disabilities, except during the year 2020, when no significant differences were found between people with and without disabilities. For people with disabilities, poverty was not associated with a lower likelihood of consultation, except for preventative dental consultations, which were significantly lower for poor people with disabilities. In addition, the subsidised insurance regimen was identified as an important variable in the utilisation of healthcare in Colombia.

Conclusion
People with disabilities in Colombia demand more health services compared with people without disabilities. Despite being in a worse condition according to various socioeconomic indicators, few factors affect their demand for healthcare services. The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a significant reduction in the probability of access to outpatient treatment services during 2020 for people with disabilities. Longitudinal studies and comparison with other Latin American countries are recommended.

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Ottobre 2024

Healthcare workers mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative analysis of a text message-based NHS workforce support line

Background
The National Health Service (NHS) is suffering from a workforce crisis of mental and physical sickness and attrition following the COVID-19 pandemic. An in-depth understanding of healthcare workers’ (HCWs) experiences during the pandemic is required to understand the impacts on their mental health in this challenging work environment. This qualitative study explores HCWs’ concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic—expressed in real time during an active mental health crisis.

Design
This study involved analysis of data from ‘Shout’, a text message-based, UK-wide mental health support service which, during the pandemic, was advertised to HCWs specifically. Pseudorandom sampling of scripts of anonymised text message conversations between HCWs and Shout Volunteers from April 2020 to March 2021 was undertaken, with data fully anonymised by Shout before researchers accessed them on a secure purpose-built platform. Following application of exclusion and inclusion criteria, 60 conversations were coded to develop a thematic framework and analysed using grounded theory, with subthemes triangulated to create final themes. Quotes extracted from this process were then synthesised for publication.

Results
Three themes emerged from the data: (1) poor mental health, subthemes—(a) overwhelming negative feelings or emotional distress experienced, and; (b) active crisis/resurgent symptoms. (2) Negative work experiences, subthemes: (a) negative NHS work culture and expectations; (b) inadequate structures and arrangements for support; (c) trauma at work, and (d) abuse at work. (3) The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, subthemes: (a) additional work pressure and (b) isolation and risk.

Conclusion
This study explores the challenges and mental health concerns in HCWs during an active crisis. Organisational stressors, mental health provision and additional resources for HCWs to recover from the pandemic remain a vital issue in current NHS service provision.

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Ottobre 2024

Impact of financial incentives introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic on nursing staff: a mixed-method protocol

Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on nursing staff, resulting in alarming turnover rates. As part of the Quebec (Canada) government’s response to the pandemic, nurses have been offered exceptional financial incentives. Considering the cost of these measures, the current article presents the research protocol of a study aiming to explore the impact of financial incentives on full-time equivalent, and retention rates among the nursing staff in two healthcare settings in Quebec.

Methods and analysis
A sequential mixed design (QUANT- >QUAL) will be used. The quantitative phase will involve a quantitative descriptive analysis and the qualitative phase will consist of a qualitative descriptive study. Administrative data (working hours, employment status and retention rate) will be analysed over a 4.5-year follow-up (from 1 January 2019 to 30 June 2023) to explore the impact of the financial incentives. Focus groups will explore nurses’ views on financial incentives. The results will inform the development of future interventions to mitigate attrition problems among nurses and ultimately improve access to and the continuity of public health services.

Ethics and dissemination
The study has been approved by ethics committees of the participating healthcare settings (Comité d’éthique de la recherche sectorial en santé des populations et première ligne du CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale; Comité d’éthique de la recherche du CISSS de Chaudière-Appalaches). The results will be disseminated mainly in scientific publications and at academic conferences in addition to presentations tailored to various non-academic audiences.

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Ottobre 2024

Combination of the chemokine receptor type 2 (CCR2) antagonist DMX-200 and candesartan for COVID-19: a randomised controlled trial

Objective
To determine whether a chemokine receptor type 2 antagonist, DMX-200 (repagermanium), in combination with an angiotensin receptor blocker, candesartan, improves clinical outcomes in people with COVID-19.

Design
Prospective, multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Setting
Ten acute care hospitals in India.

Participants
Adults

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Ottobre 2024

In-depth mixed-method case study to assess how to support and communicate with the families of hospitalised patients during COVID-19: a social innovation embedded in clinical teams

Objectives
The purpose of this study is to describe and evaluate, in a real-life context, the support and communicate with families (SCF) team’s contribution to maintaining communication and supporting relatives when patients are at the end of their lives by mobilising the points of view of SCF team members, healthcare professionals, managers and the relatives themselves.

Design
An in-depth mixed-method case study (quantitative and qualitative). Individual interviews were conducted with members of the SCF team to assess the activities and areas for improvement and with co-managers of active COVID-19 units. Healthcare professionals and managers completed a questionnaire to assess the contribution made by the SCF team. Hospitalised patients’ relatives completed a questionnaire on their experience with the SCF team.

Setting
The study was conducted in a university teaching hospital in the province of Québec, Canada.

Participants
Members of the SCF team, healthcare professionals, managers and relatives of hospitalised patients.

Results
Between April and July 2020, 131 telephone communications with families and healthcare professionals, 43 support sessions for relatives of end-of-life patients and 35 therapeutic humanitarian visits were carried out by members of the SCF team. Team members felt that they had played an active role in humanising care. Fully 83.1% of the healthcare professionals and managers reported that the SCF team’s work had met the relatives’ needs, while 15.1% believed that the SCF team should be maintained after the pandemic. Fully 95% of the relatives appreciated receiving the telephone calls and visits, while 82% felt that the visits had positive effects on hospitalised patients.

Conclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the introduction of a social innovation involving support for and communication with families. The intention of this innovation was to support the complexity of highly emotional situations experienced by families during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Ottobre 2024

The changing nature of worry about COVID-19 among the English public: a secondary analysis of 73 national, cross-sectional surveys, January 2020 to April 2022

Objectives
To investigate worry about COVID-19 during the pandemic, and whether worry was associated with phase of the pandemic, COVID-19 death and incidence rates, Government interventions (including lockdown and advertising), age, being clinically at-risk, ethnicity, thinking that the Government had put the right measures in place, perceived risk of COVID-19 to self and the UK, and perceived severity of COVID-19.

Design
Secondary analysis of a series of cross-sectional surveys.

Setting
73 online surveys conducted for the English Department of Health and Social Care between 28 January 2020 and 13 April 2022.

Participants
Participants were people aged 16 years and over living in the UK (approximately 2000 per wave).

Primary outcome measures
Our primary outcome was self-reported worry about COVID-19.

Results
Rates of being ‘extremely’ or ‘very’ worried changed over time. Worry increased as infection rates increased and fell during lockdowns, but the association became less obvious over time. Respondents aged 60 years and over were less likely to be worried after the launch of the vaccination campaign, while those who were clinically at-risk or from a minoritised ethnic community were more likely to be worried. Higher worry was associated with higher perceived risk, and higher perceived severity of COVID-19. There was no evidence for an association with agreeing that the Government was putting the right measures in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The launch of graphic Government advertising campaigns about COVID-19 had no noticeable effect on levels of public worry.

Conclusions
In future infectious disease outbreaks, spikes in worry may attenuate over time, although some sections of society may experience higher anxiety than others.

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Ottobre 2024