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BMC Health Services Research
Published in: BMC Health Services Research 1/2022

Open Access 01-12-2022 | Care | Research

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on primary health care utilization: an experience from Iran

Authors: Ramin Rezapour, Abbas Ali Dorosti, Mostafa Farahbakhsh, Saber Azami-aghdash, Ilnaz Iranzad

Published in: BMC Health Services Research | Issue 1/2022

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Abstract

Background

The Covid-19 pandemic affected the performance of Primary Health Care (PHC) worldwide. This study was performed to investigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the utilization of PHC in Iran.

Method

A before and after study conducted between 2019 and 2021. 56 medical science universities across the country were studied. The data extracted from Electronic Health Record (EHR) is entitled “SIB”. Three major indicators included a weighted average of essential services provided by (physician, dentist, mental health expert, midwife, nutritionist), percentage of actual delivered service, and percentage of customer satisfaction was selected as a criterion for assessing the PHC. Descriptive statistics and analytical statistics (Wilcoxon test) using SPSS 16 software were used for the data analyzing and reporting.

Results

There was a significant difference among the examined dimensions before and after Covid-19 separation in all studied indicators except the level of percentage of customer satisfaction (P < 0.05). So that the percentage of actually delivered services decreased about 1% and the weighted average of essential services provided by a physician, dentist, midwife, mental health experts, and nutritionist decreased 627.95, 718.81, 460.85, 2914.66, 2410.65 numbers, respectively.

Conclusion

Covid-19 Pandemic has affected the performance of Iranian PHC at the beginning and overall, has a negative consequence on utilization of services. Preparedness to respond to pandemics and develop programs and interventions is necessary to cover the weaknesses of the PHC.
Appendix
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Metadata
Title
The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on primary health care utilization: an experience from Iran
Authors
Ramin Rezapour
Abbas Ali Dorosti
Mostafa Farahbakhsh
Saber Azami-aghdash
Ilnaz Iranzad
Publication date
01-12-2022
Publisher
BioMed Central
Keywords
Care
COVID-19
Published in
BMC Health Services Research / Issue 1/2022
Electronic ISSN: 1472-6963
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-022-07753-5

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