Systematic Reviews
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Virol. Jul 25, 2022; 11(4): 186-197
Published online Jul 25, 2022. doi: 10.5501/wjv.v11.i4.186
COVID-19 pandemic effects on the distribution of healthcare services in India: A systematic review
Nirav Nimavat, Mohammad Mehedi Hasan, Sundip Charmode, Gowthamm Mandala, Ghanshyam R Parmar, Ranvir Bhangu, Israr Khan, Shruti Singh, Amit Agrawal, Ashish Shah, Vishi Sachdeva
Nirav Nimavat, Department of Community Medicine, Dr. Kiran C Patel Medical College and Research Institute, Bharuch 392001, India
Mohammad Mehedi Hasan, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University, Tangail 1902, Bangladesh
Sundip Charmode, Department of Anatomy, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rajkot 360006, Gujarat, India
Gowthamm Mandala, Independent Researcher, Centre Groove High School, Greenwood, IN 46143, United States
Ghanshyam R Parmar, Ashish Shah, Department of Pharmacy, Sumandeep Vidyapeeth, Vadodara 391760, India
Ranvir Bhangu, Department of Medical, Caribbean Medical University, Des Plaines, IL 60018, United States
Israr Khan, Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad 999010, Pakistan
Shruti Singh, Department of Pharmacology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna 801507, India
Amit Agrawal, Department of Paediatrics, Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal 462001, India
Vishi Sachdeva, Department of Medical, Adesh Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Bathinda 151009, India
Author contributions: Nimavat N, Hasan MM and Charmode S contributed to the study conception and design; Nimavat N, Hasan MM, Charmode S, Mandala G, Parmar GR and Bhangu R search the databases for literature and prepared the manuscript; Nimavat N, Khan I, Singh S, Agarwal A, Shah A and Sachdeva V prepared the final draft of the manuscript; all authors have read the final version of the manuscript and approved it.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Nirav Nimavat, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Dr. Kiran C Patel Medical College and Research Institute, New Civil Hospital Campus, Bharuch 392001, India. nkniraj1529@gmail.com
Received: December 28, 2021
Peer-review started: December 28, 2021
First decision: February 8, 2022
Revised: February 19, 2022
Accepted: June 26, 2022
Article in press: June 26, 2022
Published online: July 25, 2022
Processing time: 205 Days and 23.1 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

India was one of the countries worst hit by the devastating effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The healthcare system was unable to manage the situation.

Research motivation

The underperformed healthcare system during the pandemic exposed the crisis.

Research objectives

To identify the challenges faced by the Indian healthcare system during the pandemic.

Research methods

The review was conducted using a literature search from the database of PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, Scopus, etc. The main focus was on the Indian healthcare system and the impact of a pandemic.

Research results

The Indian healthcare system was already under pressure before the pandemic. The overburden of patients and essential health services were not handled efficiently. Many healthcare facilities were lacking the basic standards of patient care. The vaccination and chronic disease services were hampered due to the shifting of focus to COVID-19.

Research conclusions

Universal Health Coverage should be provided to each person. Increase in percentage expenditure of gross domestic product for the health sector, escalate infrastructure development, and increment of skilled manpower required.

Research perspectives

To meet the incremental demand in health care services during and after the pandemic, India needs to invest more in this sector with a goal of Universal Health Coverage.