Access to Health Care in the COVID-19 Pandemic: How is Children’s Health Affected?
COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. Due to the high contagiousness of the disease, changes have been made in the provision of health services all over the world, and health authorities have made calls to reduce hospital admissions except for urgent re...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Istanbul University Press
2021-09-01
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| Series: | Çocuk Dergisi |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/D2E6DD2A93CE4692BE3B717090080ACB |
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| Summary: | COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. Due to the high contagiousness of the disease, changes have been made in the provision of health services all over the world, and health authorities have made calls to reduce hospital admissions except for urgent reasons. Access to non-COVID-19 healthcare services has declined sharply due to the restrictions imposed to prevent viral spread, fears about the uncertainty of the disease, the redirection of healthcare professionals to the follow-up, treatment and care of infected patients, the lack of personal protective equipment, and the financial difficulties brought on by the pandemic. The population most affected by this situation caused by COVID-19 has undoubtedly been children. Due to changes in health service delivery, maternal and child health services have been interrupted, and immunization rates have decreased greatly. The closure of outpatient clinics, inpatient services and the conversion of operating rooms to intensive care units in order to intervene with infected patients have caused delays in the diagnosis and treatment of acute or chronic diseases in children. Children with chronic diseases experienced shortages of drugs or medical equipment, and children who needed rehabilitation services could not receive supportive care. In addition, preventive mental health services could not be maintained with the closure of schools. Decreases in access to health services may have negative consequences on childhood mortality and morbidity all over the world, especially in low and middle-income countries. It is important to examine the data in the world in terms of maintaining the achievements for child health and planning health services in Turkey. Therefore, this review aimed to examine the effects of the decrease in access to health services on child health during the global epidemic process. |
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| ISSN: | 1308-8491 |