Medical Journal of the Islamic Republic Of Iran

en The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Non-Communicable Disease Prevention and Management Services in the Primary Health Care System of Iran COVID 19 Original Research Original Research Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruptions in the provision of non-communicable disease (NCDs) prevention and control services in many countries, and there is a concern that it would lead to long-term complications of the diseases. The aim of this study is to assess the changes in the provisions of selected NCD services before and after the COVID-19 epidemic in Iran’s primary healthcare system.    Methods:  In this descriptive-analytical retrospective study, the number of eight NCD services provided during the first 10 months of the COVID-19 pandemic from Feb 2020 to Dec 2020 were compared with the same period in the previous year using the data from the Iranian integrated electronic health record system (SIB) and also the association between the number of deaths due to COVID-19 and a sample of NCD services were assessed using cross-correlation analysis. The statistical analysis was performed in Stata Software v.14.    Results: The NCD services have decreased by an average of 18.89% compared to the same period in the previous year; this decline was much more severe at the beginning of the epidemic period (up to 75% in some services) and was greater in physician-provided services than in non-physician services. Also, examining the course of the selected services during this period, a gradual compensation was evident after the initial reduction. Conclusion: The general trend of the selected services of prevention and control of NCDs in the PHC system of Iran within 10 months after the onset of COVID-19 showed a sharp decline and subsequent gradual compensation. Although the process of compensation in some services may be considered somewhat reassuring, in the case of some essential services, more effort and attention to the implementation of programs or compensatory policies seem necessary. COVID-19 pandemic, Non-communicable diseases, Essential services, Primary health care, Iran 1357 1365 http://mjiri.iums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-7242-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Mehdi Afkar m-afkar@health.gov.ir 200319475328460075669 200319475328460075669 No Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tehran Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran Parisa Rezanejad Asl rezanejad@health.gov.ir 200319475328460075670 200319475328460075670 No Network Management Center, Deputy of Public Health, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran Alireza Mahdavi Hezaveh a-mahdavi@health.gov.ir 200319475328460075671 200319475328460075671 No Deputy Director of the Center for Non-communicable Disease Control & Prevention, Deputy of Public Health, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran Forouzan Akrami akrami@health.gov.ir 200319475328460075672 200319475328460075672 No Medical Ethics and Law Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, & Center for Non-communicable Disease Control & Prevention, Deputy of Public Health, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran Sahand Riazi-Isfahani sahand1000@gmail.com 200319475328460075673 200319475328460075673 No National Institute for Health Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Niloofar Peykari niloofarpeykari@gmail.com 200319475328460075674 200319475328460075674 No Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran Moloud Payab moloudpayab@gmail.com 200319475328460075675 200319475328460075675 No Non-Communicable Diseases Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Population Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Alireza Moghisi a-moghisi@health.gov.ir 200319475328460075676 200319475328460075676 No Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tehran Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran Elham Yousefi e-yousefi@health.gov.ir 200319475328460075677 200319475328460075677 No Center for Non-communicable Disease Control & Prevention, Deputy of Public Health, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran Mansour Ranjbar ranjbarkahkham@who.int 200319475328460075678 200319475328460075678 No National Professional Officer, NCDs and Mental Health Unit Head, WHO Iran Marzeyeh Soleymani Nejad soleymanim@who.int 200319475328460075679 200319475328460075679 No Temporary WHO Advisor, NCDs and Mental Health Unit, WHO Iran Christoph Hamelmann hamelmannc@who.int 200319475328460075680 200319475328460075680 No WHO Representative in I.R.Iran, WHO Iran Slim Slama slamas@who.int 200319475328460075681 200319475328460075681 No Regional Adviser Noncommunicable Diseases Prevention (NCP), UHC/NCDs, WHO EMRO Jafar Sadegh Tabrizi js.tabrizi@gmail.com 200319475328460075682 200319475328460075682 No Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Management and Medical Informatics Health Services, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, & Network Management Center, Deputy of Public Health, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran Bagher Larijani emrc@tums.ac.ir 200319475328460075683 200319475328460075683 No Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Director and Chief Scientific Officer, Institute, Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Institute, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, & Deputy Chairman of the Iranian Non-communicable Diseases Committee (INCDC), Tehran, Iran Alireza Raeisi dr_alirezaraeisi@gmail.com 200319475328460075684 200319475328460075684 No Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, & Deputy Minister of Health of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran Afshin Ostovar aostovar@tums.ac.ir 200319475328460075685 200319475328460075685 No Osteoporosis Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinical Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, & Center for Non-communicable Disease Control & Prevention, Deputy of Public Health, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran