AUTHOR=Tilahun Bereket Tefera , Tariku Zerihun , Alemu Mesfin Kebede , Dejene Tafese , Natae Legesse Abera , Mohammed Hussen , Assegid Daniel Tadesse , Tekle Mickiale Hailu 

TITLE=Maternal and Child Health Services Utilization During COVID-19 in Eastern Ethiopia

JOURNAL=International Journal of Public Health

VOLUME=69

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.ssph-journal.org/journals/international-journal-of-public-health/articles/10.3389/ijph.2024.1606626

DOI=10.3389/ijph.2024.1606626

ISSN=1661-8564

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Objectives:</bold> This study aimed to describe the impact of COVID-19 on maternal and child health service utilization in the Eastern part of Ethiopia.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> Comparative analysis was used to examine 2 years of maternal and child health service utilization. Data were extracted from client registers. A traditional Expert Modeler and one-way Analysis of Variance were used to compare service utilization before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> A total of 34,576 client records were reviewed, of which 17,100 (49.5%) and 17,476 (50.5%) had visited the MCH service before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, respectively. The total client visit has shown a 2% percentage point increase. However, postnatal care and child immunization services showed a decrease. Moreover, there was a significant difference between service visits before and during COVID-19 (f = 4.6, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.04).</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> Mothers and children have missed or unattended facility appointments due to protective impositions or fear of getting infected with COVID-19, which might suggest a higher proportion of MCH issues were not addressed during the pandemic. The health system should therefore improve its resilience and strengthen its access at the lowest health care inlets.</p>