Evidence about health-system arrangements

Below we provide the ‘best’ living evidence syntheses currently available (i.e., the highest quality, most regularly updated living evidence syntheses) about health-system arrangements to respond to COVID-19. All other evidence syntheses can be found in the searchable COVID-END inventory of evidence syntheses, which is organized using the COVID-END taxonomy of decisions.

Topic addressedCriteria for 'best evidence synthesis'Details to support relevance assessmentAdditional decision-relevant detailsCitation
Date of last search Quality (AMSTAR) rating Evidence-certainty (e.g., GRADE) assessment availableKey findings
Living evidence synthesisType of synthesis             Type of question
Vaccine roll-out2021-02-035/9NoEvidence shows that negative beliefs about vaccine efficacy and safety were associated with lower vaccination acceptance among healthcare workers, non-physician health professionals were more likely to have lower acceptance rates, and having a history of accepting influenza vaccination was associated with an increase COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rate [Review of studies of unknown quality conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic and before]Yes (row content last checked on 2023-09-07)Rapid reviewOtherCrawshaw, J., Konnyu, K., Castillo, G., van Allen, Z., Grimshaw, JM., Presseau, J. Factors affecting healthcare worker COVID-19 vaccination acceptance and uptake: A living behavioural science evidence synthesis (v2, May 18th, 2021). Ottawa: Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, May 18, 2021.
 2021-04-205/9NoStudies show that vaccination acceptance rates varied in different geographical settings from 40 %to 92%, whereas capability factors, opportunity factors and motivation factors were key important factors driving vaccination acceptance among the general public [Review of studies of unknown quality]Yes (row content last checked on 2023-09-07)Rapid reviewOther
Crawshaw, J., Konnyu, K., Castillo, G., van Allen, Z., Grimshaw, JM., Presseau, J. Factors affecting COVID-19 vaccination acceptance and uptake among the general public: A living behavioural science evidence synthesis (v1.0, Apr 30th, 2021). Ottawa: Ottawa Hospital Research Institute,
Apr 30, 2021
Long-term care home ownership status2021-01-268/10NoAlthough evidence shows that for-profit ownership in care homes for older people has not been consistently associated with COVID-19 outbreaks, some studies show that they accounted for a larger proportion of cumulative infections and deaths, which could be explained by less access to personal protection equipment in these facilities [Review of observational studies mainly of low quality]Yes (row content last checked on 2023-09-07)Full reviewOtherBach-Mortensen AM, Verboom B, Esposti MD. Ownership and COVID-19 in care homes for older people: A living systematic review of outbreaks, infections, and mortalities. medRxiv. 2021.
Care models for post-COVID care2021-10-076/9NoTwenty international care models have been found to treat long COVID-19 symptoms, with the five most common principles being multidisciplinary teams, integrated care, continuity or coordination of care, self-management and evidence-based care; no evidence on the impact or costs of these models have been foundYes (row content last checked on 2023-09-07)Full reviewOtherDecary S, Dugas M, Stefan T, Langlois L, Skidmore B, Bhéreur A, and LeBlanc A.
Maternal and newborn care2021-05-149/11NoCompared to pre-pandemic levels, no differences have been found in the adjusted pre-term birth or maternal mortality rates during the COVID-19 pandemic [Review of studies of moderate quality with important heterogeneity among some of the outcomes]Yes (row content last checked on 2023-09-07)Full reviewOtherYang J, D'souza R, Kharrat A, Fell DB, Snelgrove JW, Murphy KE, et al. COVID-19 pandemic and population-level pregnancy and neonatal outcomes: A living systematic review and meta-analysis. Acta Obstetricia Gynecologica Scandinavica. 2021.