Table 1.
COVID-19 preparedness among neonatal providers and its impact on healthcare personnel and health systems, by region
| Africa N=334 n (%) |
LatAm and Caribbean N=86 n (%) |
Asia (excl. SEA) N=300 n (%) |
Oceania and SEA N=66 n (%) |
North America and Europe N=21 n (%) |
Total* N=807 n(%) | |
| Test for SARS-CoV-2 available at admission for delivery | ||||||
| Routinely for all women | 30 (9.0) | 25 (30.1) | 180 (62.3) | 43 (67.2) | 8 (38.1) | 286 (36.2) |
| Only for women with risk factors | 81 (24.3) | 14 (16.9) | 36 (12.5) | 8 (12.5) | 6 (28.6) | 145 (18.4) |
| Only for women with symptoms or contact history | 147 (44.1) | 37 (44.6) | 53 (18.3) | 0 (0.0) | 5 (23.8) | 242 (30.6) |
| Only for elective caesarean section | 2 (0.6) | 0 (0.0) | 5 (1.7) | 3 (4.6) | 0 (0.0) | 10 (1.3) |
| Never available | 73 (21.9) | 7 (8.4) | 15 (5.2) | 10 (15.4) | 2 (9.5) | 107 (13.5) |
| Sign-posted area for SARS-CoV-2 screening available in facility | 254 (76.3) | 80 (94.1) | 217 (82.8) | 48 (73.9) | 18 (85.7) | 617 (80.6) |
| Isolation areas for suspected and confirmed SARS-CoV-2 cases available in facility | 296 (88.6) | 83 (97.7) | 199 (75.7) | 36 (56.1) | 17 (89.6) | 631 (82.) |
| Sufficient PPE items† | ||||||
| Gloves | 162 (49.7) | 66 (79.5) | 212 (75.3) | 14 (21.5) | 17 (85.0) | 471 (59.9) |
| N95 masks | 37 (11.7) | 44 (52.4) | 114 (39.7) | 8 (13.3) | 10 (50.0) | 213 (27.6) |
| Eye protection | 42 (13.1) | 46 (55.4) | 99 (35.0) | 11 (17.7) | 13 (65.0) | 210 (27.3) |
| Aprons or gowns | 84 (26.3) | 57 (69.7) | 142 (48.5) | 10 (16.4) | 14 (70.0) | 308 (39.9) |
| Sanitisers | 156 (48.2) | 65 (77.4) | 230 (79.0) | 14 (21.9) | 16 (84.2) | 481 (61.4) |
| Respondents’ source of information on small and sick newborn care during the COVID-19 pandemic | ||||||
| Institution provided updated guidelines | 81 (24.6) | 25 (29.4) | 65 (22.0) | 6 (9.2) | 7 (33.3) | 184 (23.1) |
| Personally searched for information | 224 (67.0) | 52 (61.1) | 158 (55.0) | 15 (23.8) | 14 (70.0) | 463 (58.6) |
| Received information from colleagues or professional bodies | 226 (67.6) | 45 (52.9) | 179 (62.3) | 36 (57.1) | 14 (70.0) | 500 (63.3) |
| Received information from hospital or public health authorities | 241 (72.1) | 56 (65.8) | 183 (63.7) | 14 (22.2) | 16 (84.2) | 510 (64.6) |
| Respondents’ level of knowledge on care of newborns born to SARS-CoV-2 confirmed or suspected mothers | ||||||
| Very clear | 62 (18.6) | 19 (22.1) | 36 (12.0) | 10 (15.4) | 4 (19.0) | 131 (16.3) |
| Mostly clear, but some areas of concern remain | 111 (33.2) | 38 (44.2) | 126 (42.0) | 34 (52.3) | 7 (33.3) | 316 (39.2) |
| Somewhat clear, but major issues remain | 77 (23.1) | 16 (18.6) | 43 (14.3) | 6 (9.2) | 3 (14.3) | 145 (18.0) |
| Some points clear but not confident | 50 (15.0) | 9 (10.5) | 73 (24.3) | 11 (16.9) | 5 (23.8) | 148 (18.4) |
| Not at all clear | 34 (10.2) | 4 (4.7) | 22 (7.3) | 4 (6.2) | 2 (9.5) | 66 (8.2) |
| Respondents’ work affected by COVID-19 | 292 (86.9) | 74 (86.1) | 237 (79.3) | 48 (72.7) | 19 (95.0) | 670 (83.0) |
| Respondents' changes in practice due to COVID-19 | ||||||
| Reduced working hours | 93 (27.6) | 18 (20.6) | 44 (14.7) | 6 (9.0) | 2 (9.5) | 163 (20.1) |
| Always use PPE | 263 (78.2) | 63 (72.4) | 205 (68.5) | 50 (75.7) | 18 (85.7) | 599 (74.0) |
| Avoid practices that can increase transmission risk | 271 (80.6) | 54 (62.0) | 161 (53.8) | 14 (21.2) | 11 (52.3) | 511 (63.1) |
| No change in practice | 16 (4.7) | 3 (3.4) | 37 (12.3) | 1 (1.5) | 0 (0) | 57 (7.0) |
| Respondents’ fear for own health | 314 (93.2) | 78 (89.7) | 231 (77.0) | 58 (87.9) | 15 (75.0) | 696 (85.9) |
| Respondents’ higher stress level | 305 (90.8) | 80 (93.0) | 256 (86.2) | 58 (89.2) | 19 (95.0) | 718 (89.3) |
*Differential number of missing values by variable.
†PPE is considered sufficient when items are available 100% of the time they are needed.
LatAm, Latin America; PPE, personal protective equipment; SEA, Southeast Asia.