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Impact of Covid-19 pandemic on obstetric fistula repair program in Zimbabwe.

ABSTRACT: The advent of Covid-19 pandemic adversely affected many programs worldwide, public health, including programming for obstetric fistula were not spared. Obstetric fistula is an abnormal connection between the vagina and the bladder or the rectum resulting from obstetric causes, mainly prolonged obstructed labour. Zimbabwe has two obstetric fistula repair centers. Because the program uses specialist surgeons from outside the country, the repairs are organized in quarterly camps with a target to repair 90 women per quarter. This study aimed at assessing the impact of restrictions on movement and gathering of people brought about by the Cocid-19 pandemic and to characterize participants of the camp which was held in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic at Mashoko Hospital. Specifically it looked at how Covid-19 pandemic affected programming for obstetric fistula repair and characterized participants of the fistula camp held in November to December 2020 at one of the repair centers. A review of the dataset and surgical log sheets for the camp and national obstetric fistula dataset was conducted. Variables of interest were extracted onto an excel spreadsheet and analyzed for frequencies and proportions. Data were presented in charts, tables and narratives. The study noted that Covid-19 pandemic negatively affected performance of fistula repairs greatly with only 25 women repaired in 2020 as compared to 313 in 2019. Ninety women were called to come for repairs but 52 did not manage to attend due to reasons related to the restriction of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. Two thirds of those women suffered from urinary incontinence while the other third had fecal incontinence. The successful repair rate was 92%. This study concluded that the pandemic greatly affected programming of fistula repair in the country and recommended the Ministry of Health and Child Care to institute measures to resume programming as soon as the situation allows.

SUBMITTER: Chimamise C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8016295 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Obstetric fistula (OF) is a maternal morbidity associated with high rates of stillbirth, amenorrhea, and sexual dysfunction. Limited data exists on the reproductive outcomes of women in the years following a fistula repair. The objective of this study is to describe the fertility outcomes and family planning practices in a population of Malawian women 1-4 years after fistula repair. METHODS:Women who had enrolled into a clinical database of OF patients and undergone OF repair between January 1, 2012 and July 31, 2014 were recruited and enrolled to complete a home-based survey of their demographic and reproductive health data 1-4 years after their repair. Pregnancy, amenorrhea, and sexual function were described using frequency analysis, and we compared antimüllerian hormone (AMH) concentrations between women with menses or pregnancy with women with amenorrhea or no pregnancy using Wilcoxon rank sum tests. RESULTS:Of 297 women with a prior OF repair, 148 had reproductive potential and were included in this analysis. Overall 30 women of these women (21%) became pregnant since their fistula repair, with most pregnancies ending with cesarean delivery. Of the 32 women who were amenorrheic at the time of repair, 25 (78.1%) had resumption of menses. Only 11 (8.6%) of sexually active women reported dyspareunia, and among women who were not trying to conceive, 53.1% were currently using a method of family planning. No significant differences were found in AMH concentrations between those who were pregnant or had menses versus those without pregnancy or menses, respectively. CONCLUSIONS:In this long-term follow-up study of women after OF repair, many women were able to achieve a pregnancy with a live birth, have normal menses, be sexually active, and access contraception. These achievements will further assist a population of women whose reintegration and restoration of dignity is closely tied to their ability to achieve their reproductive goals. TRIAL REGISTRATION:ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02685878 .

Project description:BackgroundWe describe how High Impact Practices (HIPs) in family planning (FP) were adapted across Kenya, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe to maintain access to services in response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.MethodsUsing a qualitative data collection tool structured around 3 HIP categories (service delivery, demand creation, and enabling environment), adaptations in FP programs during the pandemic were documented. We describe adaptations made to 3 specific HIPs: mobile outreach, community health workers, and digital health for social and behavior change.Program experiencesIn Zimbabwe, the Mhuri/Imuli project adapted its mobile outreach model integrating community-based outreach with facility-based outreach. The number of outreach clients served per week peaked at 1,759 (July 2020) from a low of 203 (May 2020). Clients choosing long-acting reversible methods increased from 22% to 59% during the 3 months before and after lockdown, respectively.In Kenya, a program addressed youth's hesitation to visit health facilities through youth community health volunteers, who provided counseling, community dialogues, contraceptive pills, and condoms. Over 6 months, the program reached 1,048 youth with community dialogues, and 4,656 youth received FP services. In Nigeria, peer mobilizers provided services through a socially distanced community-based program to help adolescent girls access contraceptive self-injection when movement restrictions limited youth's ability to travel to facilities.In Nigeria, Adolescents 360 adapted sexual and reproductive health information programs for virtual delivery through WhatsApp. A contraceptive education Facebook campaign gained more than 80,000 followers, reached 5.9 million adolescents, and linked 330 adolescents to program-supported facilities from January to March 2021. In Kenya, the Kibera-based project used WhatsApp to reach youth with discussion groups and health workers with skills strengthening.ConclusionMonitoring how projects adapt HIPs to ensure continuity of care during the COVID-19 pandemic can help inform the implementation of successful adaptations in the face of present and future challenges.

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Impact of Covid-19 pandemic on obstetric fistula repair program in Zimbabwe.

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