Telehealth Program for chronic patients in rural communities in Pichincha province: health prevention and promotion during the Covid-19 pandemic. Case Report

Abstract

This case study delineates the implementation phase of the Telehealth Program by teachers, alumni and students from different colleges of the Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ, the Ministry of Public Health in Ecuador (MSP) and vulnerable patients during the Covid-19 pandemic (March 23, 2020 - December 12, 2020). The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the groups most vulnerable to developing Covid-19 and with the highest mortality rate among infected individuals are the elderly population and people suffering from chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. Considering the risk of contagion in this vulnerable population in the rural sector of Pichincha, the USFQ School of Medicine designed the Telehealth Program for chronic patients of rural communities in the Pichincha province. Alumni, students and teachers from the schools of Medicine, Psychology, Nutrition, and Microbiology participated as volunteers of the program in addition to doctors from the first-level health centers of the MSP. The aims of the program were to give clinical attention by phone calls in order to improve healthy lifestyles mainly in terms of diet and physical activity, improve adherence to treatment of chronic pathologies, provide nutritional and psychological support, and prevent the spread of Covid-19. Face visors were delivered to patients and health workers, and free SARS-CoV2 RT-PCR tests were carried out, which were processed by the Microbiology laboratory of USFQ. This program was developed with a protocol designed for this purpose, which follows the guidelines of the WHO and the MSP. We evaluated the program through the SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats). During the reported period, the Telehealth Program directly impacted 8,598 people, including patients who received medical attention, nutritional and psychological counseling, and 3,115 people who underwent SARS-CoV2 RT-PCR tests.