Health care patterns and policies in 18 European countries during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: an observational study

Abstract

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has developed into an unprecedented global challenge. Differences between countries in testing strategies, hospitalisation protocols as well as ensuring and managing ICU capacities can illustrate initial responses to a major health system shock, and steer future preparedness activities. Methods Publicly available daily data for 18 European countries was retrieved manually from official sources and documented in an Excel table (March-July 2020). The ratio of tests to cases, the share of hospitalisations out of all cases, and the share of ICU admissions out of all hospitalisations were computed using 7-day rolling averages per 100 000 population. Information on country policies was collected from the COVID-19 Health System Response Monitor of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies. Information on health care capacities, expenditure and utilization was extracted from the Eurostat health database. Results There was substantial variation across countries for all studied variables. In all countries, the ratio of tests to cases increased over time, albeit to varying degrees, while the shares of hospitalisations and ICU admissions stabilized, reflecting the evolution of testing strategies and the adaptation of COVID-19 health care delivery pathways, respectively. Health care patterns for COVID-19 at the outset of the pandemic did not necessarily follow the usual health service delivery pattern of each health system. Conclusions This study enables a general understanding of how the early evolution of the pandemic influenced and was influenced by country responses and clearly demonstrates the immense potential for cross-country learning.

One-Year Follow-Up of Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Anxiety among Health Workers of a French Cancer Center: The PRO-SERO-COV Study

“…Given that seroprevalence was correlated to the local infection rate, it is difficult to compare our results to other regions in France or other countries [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. Nevertheless, the rate of asymptomatic cases was similar to that reported in the literature [3].…”

“…They reported heterogeneous seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 from 1.8% to 18.4% between March and June 2020, as a result of variation in the performances of serological tests at the beginning of the pandemic crisis, disparities between countries in the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and management of the COVID-19 crisis [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. Out of them, four studies focused on health workers at French cancer centers, but the incidence rate of SARS-CoV-2 was also heterogeneous between regions [16]. In the PAPESCO-19 study, 940 health workers from four cancer centers located in the western, eastern, and center (Angers, Nantes (region Pays de la Loire), Nancy (region Grand-Est), Clermont-Ferrand (region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes)) were included from June to November 2020 [7].…”

Personal protective equipment for healthcare workers during COVID-19: Developing and applying a questionnaire and assessing associations between infection rates and shortages across 19 countries

“…Moreover, differences in reporting behavior of professionals, comprehensiveness of reporting [ 28 ] and in testing regimes may explain the variations. In many countries frontline HCWs were prioritized in testing together with people with severe symptoms, contacts of known cases and vulnerable groups [ 36 ] resulting in a low testing rate in the population but high rates of confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections. In the Netherlands symptomatic HCWs were not tested routinely but required to self-isolate, although this changed over time, while in Ireland HCWs were only prioritized for testing when working on the frontline and with regular patient contact [ 26 ].…”

Concurrent emergencies: overlapping Salmonella and COVID-19 concerns in public health strategies and preparedness

“…The COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial impact on healthcare systems, not just in low- and middle-income nations but also in higher-income regions like as Europe and the United States ( 30 , 32 ). European countries showed considerable diversity in their approaches to healthcare practices during the COVID-19 pandemic, but overall, they successfully implemented appropriate measures to tackle this problem ( 34 , 35 ). Smolić et al ( 36 ) discovered that 44.6% of the participants in their study saw disruptions on healthcare services during the pandemic.…”