الملخص الإنجليزي
Abstract
Background:
Coronavirus disease is an infectious respiratory disease caused by the Coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. In
March 2020, the World Health Organization declared that the Coronavirus-19 outbreak became
a global pandemic. Globally, several measures were implemented to control the pandemic,
including staying-at-home orders, wearing face masks, and modifying medical services. For
instance, outpatient services, routine diagnostic procedures, sereening campaigns, and regular
surgical procedures were disrupted in several healthcare facilities. Since cardiac centres are
essential facilities in the healthcare system, any adaptive measure should take into consideration
its impact on patients' outcomes.
Aim: The study aimed to investigate the adaptation of patient management and cardiac health
care services at a specialized cardiac centre in the Kingdom of Bahrain during the COVID-19
pandemic.
Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 214 nurses working in the cardiac
centre using convenience sampling methods and the Patient Management and Cardiac Health
Care Services questionnaire.
Results: A total of 214 nurses were included in the study. Most participants were females
(89.3%) with a mean age of 34.6 ± 7.9 years. The majority of participants noticed a reduction
in the number of hospitalized patients (87.4%) during the Coronavirus-19 pandemic. According
to the participants, smartphone applications were used to overcome face-to-face consultations
(52.8-65%) and the appointments were changed to phone consultations (60.7%). Outpatient and
diagnostic services were the most affected services (95.8% and 94.4%, respectively), while
emergency and eritical care units were the least affected services (56.6% and 30.8%,
respectively), (P<0.001).
Conclusion: In conclusion, several adaptations and changes in cardiac services were made in
response to the Coronavirus-19 pandemic, including the use of telehealth services, the use of
alternative procedures, limiting the number of procedures and surgeries, and the implementation
of a novel home delivery service for medications. Although essential cardiac services continued
to function, several diagnostic and outpatient services were disrupted. The recognition of this
study is the need for developing protocol care for patients admitted for ACS as part of the
COVID-19 pandemic. As well, further studies are needed to assess the impact of these
adaptations on patients' outcomes as well as the efficiency of these interventions in the post-
pandemic period. as well as the efficiency of these interventions in the post-pandemic period
are needed.
Keywords: Patients, Nurses, COVID-19 crisis, health care services.
