Health experts paint a picture of Kenya’s healthcare system in times of crisis
The study was conducted by scholars from the University of Nairobi and their counterparts from Aga Khan University and Ministry of Health.
The researchers analyzed how the pandemic affected the utilization of various healthcare services with the aim of determining which services were resilient or prone to system disruptions.
They investigated the impact of the pandemic on the utilization of various healthcare services in the country.
Over four years, the researchers gathered monthly summaries of county-level data for 17 variables from the Kenya Health Information System. Pre-pandemic (January 2018 to February 2020), two pandemic seasons (March to November 2020 and February to October 2021), and the healthcare workers' strike (December 2020 to January 2021) were among them.
They discovered that the epidemic and the related strike by healthcare workers affected crucial health services. Outpatient visits, screening and diagnostic services, and child immunization were adversely affected.
These results provide a useful tool to assist health authorities and other stakeholders in better preparing for upcoming pandemics and ensuring that crucial health services continue to function properly even during unusual times.
