Telehealth interventions for COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa
Citation: Manyati TK, Mutsau M. Exploring the effectiveness of telehealth interventions for diagnosis, contact tracing and care of Corona Virus Disease of 2019 (COVID19) patients in sub Saharan Africa: a rapid review. Health and Technology. 2021;11:341-348.
Language: Abstract and full text available in EN.
Free to view: Yes.
Funding sources: Nothing noted.
What is this? Health emergencies can place a great strain on health systems, and telehealth services may be a way to improve the provision of health care.
In this rapid review, the authors searched for peer-reviewed qualitative articles on the use of telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa. They restricted their searches to articles published in English between January and July 2020. The authors searched in July 2020 and found 7 studies conducted in Nigeria (1) and Zimbabwe (1), and commentaries about sub-Saharan Africa (4) and Uganda (1).
What was found: The authors found that telehealth services improved the capacity and scope of the COVID-19 response. Mobile location data improved decision-making. Telehealth supported mental health for both patients and health-care workers, as well as access to medical services without the risk of infection by person-to-person contact.
Implications: The authors of the review stated that standardised, evidence-based guidelines are needed to support regulatory oversight and reduce the cost of access to telehealth services in developing countries. In a post-COVID-19 era, digital technologies could be used to investigate outbreaks and trace contacts.
Other considerations: The authors of the review discussed their findings in the context of place of residence.
This summary was prepared by Joly Ghanawi, checked by Grace Meng, and finalized by William Summerskill.