Territorial Strategy of Medical Units for Addressing the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Metropolitan Area of Mexico City: Analysis of Mobility, Accessibility and Marginalization

Mateo Carlos Galindo-Pérez, Manuel Suárez, Ana Rosa Rosales-Tapia, José Sifuentes-Osornio, Ofelia Angulo-Guerrero, Héctor Benítez-Pérez, Guillermo de Anda-Jauregui, Juan Luis Díaz- de-León-Santiago, Enrique Hernández-Lemus, Luis Alonso Herrera, Oliva López-Arellano, Arturo Revuelta-Herrera, Rosaura Ruiz-Gutiérrez, Claudia Sheinbaum-Pardo and David Kershenobich-Stalnikowitz
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Mateo Carlos Galindo-Pérez: Centro Regional de Investigaciones Multidisciplinarias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca 62209, Mexico
Manuel Suárez: Instituto de Geografía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de Mexico 04510, Mexico
Ana Rosa Rosales-Tapia: Instituto de Geografía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de Mexico 04510, Mexico
José Sifuentes-Osornio: Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Ciudad de Mexico 14080, Mexico
Ofelia Angulo-Guerrero: Secretaría de Educación, Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación, Gogobierno de la Ciudad de México, Ciudad de Mexico 06010, Mexico
Héctor Benítez-Pérez: Dirección General de Cómputo y de Tecnologías de Información y Comunicación, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de Mexico 04510, Mexico
Guillermo de Anda-Jauregui: Departamento de Genómica Computacional, Instituto Nacional de Medicina Genómica, Ciudad de Mexico 14610, Mexico
Juan Luis Díaz- de-León-Santiago: Secretaría de Educación, Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación, Gogobierno de la Ciudad de México, Ciudad de Mexico 06010, Mexico
Enrique Hernández-Lemus: Departamento de Genómica Computacional, Instituto Nacional de Medicina Genómica, Ciudad de Mexico 14610, Mexico
Luis Alonso Herrera: Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de Mexico 04510, Mexico
Oliva López-Arellano: Secretaría de Salud de la Ciudad de México, Ciudad de Mexico 06900, Mexico
Arturo Revuelta-Herrera: Secretaría de Salud de la Ciudad de México, Ciudad de Mexico 06900, Mexico
Rosaura Ruiz-Gutiérrez: Secretaría de Educación, Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación, Gogobierno de la Ciudad de México, Ciudad de Mexico 06010, Mexico
Claudia Sheinbaum-Pardo: Gobierno de la Ciudad de México, Ciudad de Mexico 06000, Mexico
David Kershenobich-Stalnikowitz: Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Ciudad de Mexico 14080, Mexico

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 2, 1-23

Abstract: Background. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an exponential increase in the demand for medical care worldwide. In Mexico, the COVID Medical Units (CMUs) conversion strategy was implemented. Objective. To evaluate the CMU coverage strategy in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) by territory. Materials. The CMU directory was used, as were COVID-19 infection and mobility statistics and Mexican 2020 census information at the urban geographic area scale. The degree of urban marginalization by geographic area was also considered. Method. Using descriptive statistics and the calculation of a CMU accessibility index, population aggregates were counted based on coverage radii. In addition, two regression models are proposed to explain (1) the territorial and temporal trend of COVID-19 infections in the MCMA and (2) the mobility of the COVID-infected population visiting medical units. Results. The findings of the evaluation of the CMU strategy were (1) in the MCMA, COVID-19 followed a pattern of contagion from the urban center to the periphery; (2) given the growth in the number of cases and the overload of medical units, the population traveled greater distances to seek medical care; (3) after the CMU strategy was evaluated at the territory level, it was found that 9 out of 10 inhabitants had a CMU located approximately 7 km away; and (4) at the metropolitan level, the lowest level of accessibility to the CMU was recorded for the population with the highest levels of marginalization, i.e., those residing in the urban periphery.

Keywords: COVID hospitals; contagion; mobility; accessibility; Mexico City Metropolitan Area (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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