Background:
Coronavirus diesease (COVID-19) led to increased demand on the Indian health system due to the pandemic as well as other communicable and non-communicable diseases. Guidance was thus issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), India, in April 2020 to maintain the delivery of essential health services.
Objectives:
To determine the extent of disruptions of essential healthcare services, identify associated factors, and establish pertinent correlations to address specific needs.
Methods:
The Mother and child tracking facilitation centre (MCTFC) conducted a telephonic survey with the front-line workers (FLWs) and beneficiaries in 21 Indian states. The sample size was determined using the infinite population sample size formula, and respondents were selected through a computer-generated random sequence technique. Data were quantitatively analysed using STATA-16. Descriptive univariate analysis was conducted using the Chi-square test.
Findings:
The majority of the essential health services were being satisfactorily delivered by FLWs (
N
= 1596; accredited social health activist (ASHA) = 798, auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM) = 798), where most of the beneficiaries (
N
= 1410; Pregnant Women = 708, Postnatal Women = 702) continued accessing services with minor issues concerning referral transport. FLWs reported issues in the provisioning of medicines
(P
= 0.000
)
for patients with non-communicable diseases and more ANMs than ASHAs reported it. FLWs commonly experienced challenges in extending services due to community resistance and unavailability of general health services at healthcare facilities, where a greater number of ASHAs faced it (
P
= 0.000). Both FLWs and beneficiaries (
N
= 3006; FLWs = 1596, beneficiaries = 1410) demonstrated appropriate COVID-19 knowledge and behavior.
Conclusion:
Although overwhelmed, the Indian health system performed satisfactorily well during pandemic in terms of essential health services.
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