ABSTRACT
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has challenged health systems and healthcare workers worldwide. Access to personal protective equipment (PPE) is essential to mitigate the risk of excess mortality in healthcare providers. In Malawi, the cost of PPE represents an additional drain on available resources. In the event of repeated waves of disease over several years, the development of sustainable systems of PPE is essential. We describe the development, early implementation and rapid scale up of a reusable gown service at a tertiary-level hospital in Blantyre, Malawi. Challenges included healthcare worker perceptions around the potential of reduced efficacy of cotton gowns, the need to plan for surge capacity and the need for ongoing training of laundry staff in safety and hygiene procedures. Benefits of the system included increased coverage, decreased cost and reduced waste disposal. The implementation of a reusable cotton gown service is feasible, acceptable and cost-effective in tertiary centres providing specialist COVID-19 care at the height of the pandemic. This innovation could be expanded beyond low-income settings.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Personal Protective Equipment , Humans , Malawi , Pandemics , SARS-CoV-2Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Civil Defense/standards , Hospitals, Pediatric , Infection Control , Tertiary Care Centers , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/prevention & control , Child , Civil Defense/methods , Health Services Needs and Demand , Hospitals, Pediatric/organization & administration , Hospitals, Pediatric/trends , Humans , Infection Control/methods , Infection Control/organization & administration , Intersectoral Collaboration , Malawi/epidemiology , Organizational Innovation , Physical Distancing , SARS-CoV-2 , Telemedicine/organization & administration , Tertiary Care Centers/organization & administration , Tertiary Care Centers/trendsABSTRACT
There remain a number of uncertainties globally about the risks posed to women who are infected with SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy. Furthermore, our understanding of the spread of COVID-19 in Sub-Saharan Africa is limited, owing to low testing rates in many parts of the continent. PeriCOVID Africa, in conjunction with the WHO/HRP Alliance, plans to address these knowledge gaps by harnessing research infrastructures in place in five sub-Saharan African countries in order to screen more than 50,000 pregnant women and their infants for SARS-CoV-2, while monitoring pregnancy and neonatal outcomes. We anticipate that the results of this study will provide much needed information about the risks that SARS-CoV-2 poses to pregnant women and their babies, as well as establishing potential routes of mother-to-child transmission.