A Critical Analysis of the COVID-19 Hospitalization Network in Countries with Limited Resources

Marcio L. V. Araujo, José G. V. Miranda, Rodrigo N. Vasconcelos, Elaine C. B. Cambui, Raphael S. Rosário, Márcio C. F. Macedo, Antonio C. Bandeira, Márcia S. P. L. Souza, Ana C. F. N. Silva, Aloisio S. Nascimento Filho, Thiago B. Murari, Eduardo M. F. Jorge and Hugo Saba
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Marcio L. V. Araujo: Modelagem Computacional e Tecnologia Industrial (PPG MCTI), Centro Universitário SENAI CIMATEC, Av. Orlando Gomes, 1845—Piatã, Salvador 41650-010, Brazil
José G. V. Miranda: Department of Physics, Federal University of Bahia, Campus Universitário de Ondina—Ondina, Salvador 40210-340, Brazil
Rodrigo N. Vasconcelos: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, State University of Feira de Santana, Av. Transnordestina, s/n—Feira de Santana, Novo Horizonte 44036-900, Brazil
Elaine C. B. Cambui: Department of Ecology, Federal University of Bahia, Campus Universitário de Ondina—Ondina, Salvador 40210-340, Brazil
Raphael S. Rosário: Department of Physics, Federal University of Bahia, Campus Universitário de Ondina—Ondina, Salvador 40210-340, Brazil
Márcio C. F. Macedo: Department of Physics, Federal University of Bahia, Campus Universitário de Ondina—Ondina, Salvador 40210-340, Brazil
Antonio C. Bandeira: Health Secretary of the State of Bahia, 4ª Avenida Centro Administrativo da Bahia, 400—Centro Administrativo da Bahia, Salvador 40301-110, Brazil
Márcia S. P. L. Souza: Health Secretary of the State of Bahia, 4ª Avenida Centro Administrativo da Bahia, 400—Centro Administrativo da Bahia, Salvador 40301-110, Brazil
Ana C. F. N. Silva: Health Secretary of the State of Bahia, 4ª Avenida Centro Administrativo da Bahia, 400—Centro Administrativo da Bahia, Salvador 40301-110, Brazil
Aloisio S. Nascimento Filho: Núcleo de Pesquisa Aplicada e Inovação (NPAI), Universidade do Estado da Bahia—UNEB/Centro Universitário SENAI CIMATEC, Salvador 41650-010, Brazil
Thiago B. Murari: Núcleo de Pesquisa Aplicada e Inovação (NPAI), Universidade do Estado da Bahia—UNEB/Centro Universitário SENAI CIMATEC, Salvador 41650-010, Brazil
Eduardo M. F. Jorge: Núcleo de Pesquisa Aplicada e Inovação (NPAI), Universidade do Estado da Bahia—UNEB/Centro Universitário SENAI CIMATEC, Salvador 41650-010, Brazil
Hugo Saba: Modelagem Computacional e Tecnologia Industrial (PPG MCTI), Centro Universitário SENAI CIMATEC, Av. Orlando Gomes, 1845—Piatã, Salvador 41650-010, Brazil

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 7, 1-10

Abstract: To effectively combat the COVID-19 pandemic, countries with limited resources could only allocate intensive and non-intensive care units to a low number of regions. In this work, we evaluated the actual displacement of infected patients in search of care, aiming to understand how the networks of planned and actual hospitalizations take place. To assess the flow of hospitalizations outside the place of residence, we used the concepts of complex networks. Our findings indicate that the current distribution of health facilities in Bahia, Brazil, is not sufficient to effectively reduce the distances traveled by patients with COVID-19 who require hospitalization. We believe that unnecessary trips to distant hospitals can put both the sick and the healthy involved in the transport process at risk, further delaying the stabilization of the COVID-19 pandemic in each region of the state of Bahia. From the results found, we concluded that, to mitigate this situation, the implementation of health units in countries with limited resources should be based on scientific methods, and international collaborations should be established.

Keywords: government; hospitalization; pandemics; public policy; transportation (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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