Impact of the COVID -19 pandemic on morbidity and mortality due to enteric infections in children < 5 years of age in Malawi
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Date
16-03-22
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Publisher
Malawi Liverpool Welcome Trust
Abstract
Study type: Observational study
Problem: Since April 2020, Malawi has experienced three waves of Sars-Cov-2 rapid
transmission and associated deaths. The spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has impacted health services globally. Consequent disruption of routine health services is expected to have long-term and far-reaching consequences.
Significant reductions in the numbers of inpatients or attendance to primary/community
health care clinics for illnesses other than COVID-19 have been described in many settings.
Among other reasons, these changes could be due to movement restrictions preventing travel to health care facilities, lack of space at these facilities due to COVID-19, or avoidance of medical institutions due to concerns of exposure.
Main objective: This protocol aims to assess the impact of COVID-19 on morbidity and
mortality associated with enteric illness in Low -Middle-Income Countries (LMICs).
Specific objectives:
a. Evaluate the temporal diarrheal trends in relation to national and, where available,
local COVID-19 activity, by examining routinely collected data on hospital admissions
or attendance to the outpatient department (OPD) and community health clinics
with a diagnosis of diarrhea.
b. Assess the temporal trends in diarrheal disease severity and mortality among
children under 5 years of age in relation to COVID-19 activity, by examining
hospitalization data with a diagnosis of diarrheal illness.
c. Estimate the impact of disruption to Extended Programme on Immunisation (EPI) on
rotavirus diarrheal disease
Methodology: Data on the monthly number of diarrheal disease cases, on monthly EPI
vaccine and dose-specific administration, and on inpatient diarrheal cases’ associated mortality for children <5 for all 28 districts of Malawi will be obtained from the Ministry of
Health’s Health Management Information System (HMIS). Data will be aggregated by the
5 health zones (Northern, Central East, Central West, Southeast, and Southwest regions of Malawi). Exploratory analysis will include data aggregation by urban-rural categories too.
Where data gaps exist in the electronic database inspection of the physical records will be done in the districts.
Expected Results and Dissemination:
A negative impact on seeking care for diarrheal disease and on EPI is expected due to fear of contracting COVID19 at health facilities. Once the data is generated and analyzed for trends, the findings thereof will be shared with the College of Medicine Research Ethics Committee (COMREC), the Ministry of Health (MoH), published in peer reviewed journals and will be disseminated to the general public through the annual College of Medicine Research dissemination conference.
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Keywords
Impact of the COVID -19 pandemic on morbidity and mortality due to enteric infections