Healthcare utilization and maternal and child mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic in 18 low- and middle-income countries: An interrupted time-series analysis with mathematical modeling of administrative data
Fig 2
Estimated and observed volume of outpatient consultations with officially reported COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 and mobility restrictions by country, January 2018–June 2021.
Note: Outpatient consultations are used as a proxy for the utilization of general health services. Data on officially reported COVID-19 deaths are compiled from Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus dashboard [1]. Population denominators for all countries are based on 2019 estimates from the World Bank Development Indicators database. Utilization volume and mortality data are normalized across countries by dividing by the highest observed monthly value within each country. Data on mobility restrictions is summarized by an index of public transport closures, stay-at-home requirements, movement limitations, school closures, and workplace closures stringency scores provided by the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker. The scores from this index are normalized, and the categorized into quintiles. Gaps in the service volume data are due to months removed because of low completeness. Details on indicator reporting can be found in Table L in S1 Text and data completeness can be found in Fig A in S1 Text. DRC is Democratic Republic of the Congo. Results for ANC1, delivery, BCG, and Penta3 are visualized in Fig B in S1 Text.