Experiences of patients with chronic diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic in the North West province, South Africa

Abstract

Background: Patients with chronic diseases (PWCDs) were severely affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, as they were prevented from making the necessary visits to health facilities for medical review and to collect their medication. The emergence of the health crisis and inadequate access to quality care affected chronic care management. The perspectives of PWCDs are not known, and therefore the research on which this paper is based sought to investigate the lived experiences of these patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: A qualitative phenomenological design was used to obtain the lived experiences of PWCDs identified for participation in the study by means of purposive sampling. Patients’ experiences were obtained during individual structured interviews, and a checklist was used to gather patient characteristics from their files.Results: Three themes emerged from the study findings, namely poor healthcare services, the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic had devastating effects on PWCDs, in that they experienced barriers to accessing quality chronic care services and suffered psychological and financial difficulties that affected their health, life, needs and expectations.Conclusion: Policymakers should consider PWCDs when responding to a public health concern in the future.Contribution: The study findings may have an impact on future policies regulating the management of chronic diseases during epidemics, in order to improve patient health outcomes and satisfaction with healthcare services and the chronic care model based on the experiences of PWCDs.

Strategies that enabled access to chronic care during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond in South Africa

“…Table 1 reflects the demographics of both the facility and the participants involved in the study. A total of 28 patients from the four selected facilities were interviewed, and data saturation was reached with this sample (Mboweni & Risenga 2023 ). The demographic data reflected the socioeconomic status of the participants and how this situation had influenced access to chronic care, self-care and treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic, more especially during the hard lockdown.…”

“…Most participants were PLHIV on ART (35.7%), the next largest group comprised those with hypertension (HPT) (25.0%); the smallest number were participants with cardiac conditions and the lowest number was participants with comorbidities (14.28%). Most of the participants (78.57%) were from rural areas, (Mboweni & Risenga 2023 ).…”

“…Most (60.71%) of the participants were unemployed: 17.5% worked for an employer and 7.14% were self-employed. Sources of income were government grants (14.3%), employers (17.9%) and selling (7.1%) (Mboweni & Risenga 2023 ). Most of the study participants were of low socioeconomic status and depended on public health facilities for chronic care and treatment services.…”

“…According to Adams et al ( 2021 ), the majority of PWCDs, particularly those over 45 years who lived within one kilometre of the clinic, expressed interest in pharmaceutical delivery service rather than spending more than 6 h waiting at a facility. Mboweni and Risenga ( 2023 ) conducted a study where PWCDs identified barriers to accessing chronic care services, such as long waits, staff shortages and negative staff attitudes. People with chronic diseases emphasised the need for improved access, prompting the researcher to conduct this study to explore strategies that will enhance access to chronic care and treatment services not only during COVID-19 but beyond.…”

Knowledge of non-communicable diseases and access to healthcare services among adults before and during COVID-19 pandemic in rural Tanzania

“…In addition, 80% reported worsened mental health status of their patients ( 5 ). In South Africa, a qualitative study on the experience of patients with chronic diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic reported the following challenges; long waiting hours, limited number of patients seen per day, closure of health facilities, shortage of staff and medicines, negative staff’ attitude, and substandard chronic care management ( 9 ).…”