Authors: Christiane Correa Rodrigues Cimini, Junia Xavier Maia, Magda Carvalho Pires, Leonardo Bonisson Ribeiro, Vânia Soares de Oliveira E Almeida Pinto, James Batchelor, Antonio Luiz Pinho Ribeiro, Milena Soriano Marcolino
This study investigated how the care of patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first part of the study, researchers evaluated the frequency of medical consultations and the disease status of DM patients from 34 primary health care centers in Brazil. Subsequently, authors developed an application for use by CHWs to identify at-risk DM patients. More than 5,000 DM patients were included in the study. Researchers found that there was a significant reduction in the number of weekly consultations among DM patients during the COVID-19 pandemic: only 15 percent of DM patients went for a medical consultation. Additionally, patients who had gone for medical consultations had lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Regarding the mobile application, authors concluded that CHWs could easily incorporate it into their everyday activities. This study provides insight into how health behavior seeking was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and how technology may be used by CHWs for early DM identification.
Link: Pandemic-Related Impairment in the Monitoring of Patients With Hypertension and Diabetes and the Development of a Digital Solution for the Community Health Worker: Quasi Experimental and Implementation Study
Resource Topic: COVID-19, Community Health Workers/Volunteers, Diabetes, Digital technology
Resource Type: Research
Year: 2022
Region: Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)
Country: Brazil
Publisher May Restrict Access: No