Sheba Mary Pognaa Kunfah, Linus Baatiema, Kenneth Mibut Dam, Leonard Baatiema
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic revealed significant weaknesses in global and national health systems. This study aims to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health system resilience in responding to the cerebrospinal meningitis (CSM) outbreak in Ghana.
Methods: A qualitative study design and purposive sampling were used to select clinical, public health staff and community health volunteers. From October 2023 to January 2024, data were collected across five selected districts with the highest burden of meningitis cases in the Upper West Region facilitated by a semi-structured interview guide. To analyse the data, we adopted a thematic analysis approach guided by the new health systems resilience framework.
Results: The study revealed strengths and vulnerabilities across all six key domains of the resilience framework. These findings suggested that the health system was ill-prepared for the concurrent outbreaks, resulting in a suboptimal response. Key among the findings were the diverted attention towards COVID-19, inequitable distribution of resources and a delayed response to the meningitis outbreak.
Conclusions: This study offers a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by the health system during the concurrent health crises. There is a need to integrate emergency preparedness and response plans during concurrent outbreaks and to set up a dedicated public health emergency fund at the national and subnational levels.
期刊介绍:
International Health is an official journal of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. It publishes original, peer-reviewed articles and reviews on all aspects of global health including the social and economic aspects of communicable and non-communicable diseases, health systems research, policy and implementation, and the evaluation of disease control programmes and healthcare delivery solutions.
It aims to stimulate scientific and policy debate and provide a forum for analysis and opinion sharing for individuals and organisations engaged in all areas of global health.