Development of an Index to Assess COVID-19 Hospital Care Installed Capacity in the 450 Brazilian Health Regions.

OBJECTIVE: The article seeks to assess the Brazilian health system ability to respond to the challenges imposed by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic by measuring the capacity of Brazilian hospitals to care for COVID-19 cases in the 450 Health Regions of the country during the year 2020. Hospital capacity refers to the availability of hospital beds, equipment, and human resources. METHODS: We used longitudinal data from the National Register of Health Facilities (CNES) regarding the availability of resources necessary to care for patients with COVID-19 in inpatient facilities (public or private) from January to December 2020. Among the assessed resources are health professionals (certified nursing assistants, nurses, physical therapists, and doctors), hospital beds (clinical, intermediate care, and intensive care units), and medical equipment (computed tomography scanners, defibrillators, electrocardiograph monitors, ventilators, and resuscitators). In addition to conducting a descriptive analysis of absolute and relative data (per 10,000 users), a synthetic indicator named Installed Capacity Index (ICI) was calculated using the multivariate principal component analysis technique to assess hospital capacity. The indicator was further stratified into value ranges to understand its evolution. RESULTS: There was an increase in all selected indicators between January and December 2020. It was possible to observe differences between the Northeast and North regions and the other regions of the country; most Health Regions presented low ICI. The ICI increased between the beginning and the end of 2020, but this evolution differed among Health Regions. The average increase in the ICI was more evident in the groups that already had considerably high baseline capacity in January 2020. CONCLUSIONS: It was possible to identify inequalities in the hospital capacity to care for patients affected by COVID -19 in the Health Regions of Brazil, with a concentration of low index values in the Northeast and North of the country. As the indicator increased throughout the year 2020, inequalities were also observed. The information here provided may be used by health authorities, providers, and managers in planning and adjusting for future COVID-19 care and in dimensioning the adequate supply of hospital beds, health-care professionals, and devices in Health Regions to reduce associated morbidity and mortality. We recommend that the ICI continue to be calculated in the coming months of the pandemic to monitor the capacity in the country's Health Regions.

Geographical variation in demand, utilization, and outcomes of hospital services for COVID-19 in Brazil: A descriptive serial cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the geographical variation in the provision of health services, namely in demand, patterns of utilization, and effectiveness in the Brazilian Health Regions in four different periods of the COVID-19 pandemic, from February 2020 to March 2021. METHODS: Descriptive serial cross-sectional study based on secondary data on COVID-19 hospitalizations from SIVEP-Gripe, a public and open-access database of Severe Acute Respiratory Illness records collected by the Brazilian Ministry of Health, and COVID-19 case notification data from Brasil.io, a repository of public data. Fifty-six epidemiological weeks were split into four periods. The following variables were considered for each Brazilian Health Region, per period: number of hospitalizations, hospitalizations per 100,000 inhabitants, hospitalizations per 100 new cases notified in the Health Region, percentage of hospitalizations with ICU use, percentages of hospitalizations with invasive and non-invasive ventilatory support, percentage of hospitalizations resulting in death and percentage of hospitalizations with ICU use resulting in death. Descriptive statistics of the variables were obtained across all 450 Health Regions in Brazil over the four defined pandemic periods. Maps were generated to capture the spatiotemporal variation and trends during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. RESULTS: There was great variation in how COVID-19 hospitalizations grew and spread among Health Regions, with higher numbers between June and August 2020, and, especially, from mid-December 2020 to March 2021. The variation pattern in the proportion of ICU use in the hospitalizations across the Health Regions was broad, with no intensive care provision in large areas in the North, Northeast, and Midwest. The proportions of hospitalizations and hospitalizations with ICU use resulting in deaths were remarkably high, reaching medians of 34.0% and 62.0% across Health Regions, respectively. CONCLUSION: The Heath Regions in Brazil are highly diverse, showing broad disparities in the capacity to respond to the demands imposed by COVID-19, services provided, use and outcomes.

Inpatient flow for COVID-19 in the Brazilian health regions / Fluxo de internação por COVID-19 nas regiões de saúde do Brasil

Objective: To investigate the flows of hospitalizations for COVID-19 in the 450 regions and 117 Brazilian health macro-regions between March and October 2020. Method: Descriptive study, comprising all hospitalizations due to COVID-19 registered in the Flu Epidemiological Surveillance Information System (SIVEP-Gripe) between the 8th and 44th epidemiological weeks of 2020. The proportion of hospitalizations for COVID-19 occurred within same health region of residency was calculated, stratified according to periods of greater and lesser demand for health care, according to the population size of health regions. The indicator of migratory efficacy was calculated, which takes into account the evasion and invasion of patients, by crossing the data of origin of the patients (health region of residence) with the data of the place of hospitalization (health region of attendance). Results: 397,830 admissions were identified for COVID-19 in the period. Evasion was 11.9% of residents in health regions and 6.8% in macro-regions, pattern that was maintained during the peak period of hospitalizations for COVID-19. There was an average of 17.6% of evasion of residents of health regions in the Northeast and of 8.8% in health regions of the South. Evasion was more accentuated in health regions with up to 100 thousand / inhabitants (36.9%), which was 7 times greater than that observed in health regions with more than 2 million / inhabitants (5.2%). The negative migratory efficacy indicator (-0.39) indicated a predominance of evasion. Of the 450 Brazilian health regions, 117 (39.3%) had a coefficient of migratory efficacy between -1 and -0.75 and 113 (25.1%) between -0.75 and -0.25. Conclusion: The results indicate that the regionalization of the health system proved to be adequate in the organization of care in the territory, however the long distances traveled are still worrying.

Objetivo: Investigar os fluxos de internações por COVID-19 nas 450 regiões e 117 macrorregiões de saúde brasileiras no período de março a outubro de 2020. Método: Estudo descritivo, compreendendo todas as internações por COVID-19 registradas no Sistema de Informação de Vigilância Epidemiológica da Gripe (SIVEP-Gripe) entre a 8ª e a 44ª semanas epidemiológicas de 2020. Foi calculada a proporção das internações por COVID-19 realizadas pelos residentes que ocorreram dentro da sua respectiva região de saúde, estratificado segundo períodos de maior e menor demanda de internações e segundo o porte populacional das regiões de saúde. Foi calculado o indicador de eficácia migratória, que leva em consideração a evasão e invasão de pacientes, por meio do cruzamento dos dados de origem dos pacientes (região de saúde de residência) com os dados do local da realização das internações (região de saúde de atendimento). Resultados: Foram identificadas 397.830 internações por COVID-19 no Brasil. A evasão foi de 11,9% dos residentes nas regiões de saúde e de 6,8% nas macrorregiões; o padrão que se manteve também no período de pico das internações por COVID-19. Houve em média 17,6% de evasão dos residentes das regiões de saúde do Nordeste e de 8,8% nas regiões de saúde do Sul. A evasão foi mais acentuada nas regiões de saúde com até 100 mil/hab. (36,9%), a qual foi 7 vezes maior que a verificada nas regiões de saúde com mais de 2 milhões/habitantes (5,2%). O indicador de eficácia migratória negativo (-0,39) indicou predomínio da evasão. Das 450 regiões de saúde brasileiras, 117 (39,3%) apresentaram coeficiente de eficácia migratória entre -1 e -0,75 e 113 (25,1%) entre -0,75 e -0,25. Conclusão: Os resultados indicam que a regionalização do sistema de saúde mostrou-se adequada na organização do atendimento no território, porém as longas distâncias percorridas ainda são preocupantes

Fluxo de internação por COVID-19 nas regiões de saúde do Brasil

Objetivo: Investigar os fluxos de internações por COVID-19 nas 450 regiões e 117 macrorregiões de saúde brasileiras no período de março a outubro de 2020. Método: Estudo descritivo, compreendendo todas as internações por COVID-19 registradas no Sistema de Informação de Vigilância Epidemiológica da Gripe (SIVEP-Gripe) entre a 8ª e a 44ª semanas epidemiológicas de 2020. Foi calculada a proporção das internações por COVID-19 realizadas pelos residentes que ocorreram dentro da sua respectiva região de saúde, estratificado segundo períodos de maior e menor demanda de internações e segundo o porte populacional das regiões de saúde. Foi calculado o indicador de eficácia migratória, que leva em consideração a evasão e invasão de pacientes, por meio do cruzamento dos dados de origem dos pacientes (região de saúde de residência) com os dados do local da realização das internações (região de saúde de atendimento). Resultados: Foram identificadas 397.830 internações por COVID-19 no período. A evasão foi de 11,9% dos residentes nas regiões de saúde e de 6,8% nas macrorregiões; o padrão que se manteve também no período de pico das internações por COVID-19. Houve em média 17,6% de evasão dos residentes das regiões de saúde do Nordeste e de 8,8% nas regiões de saúde do Sul. A evasão foi mais acentuada nas regiões de saúde com até 100 mil/hab. (36,9%), a qual foi 7 vezes maior que a verificada nas regiões de saúde com mais de 2 milhões/habitantes (5,2%). O indicador de eficácia migratória negativo (-0,39) indicou predomínio da evasão. Das 450 regiões de saúde brasileiras, 117 (39,3%) apresentaram coeficiente de eficácia migratória entre -1 e -0,75 e 113 (25,1%) entre -0,75 e -0,25. Conclusão: Os resultados indicam que a regionalização do sistema de saúde mostrou-se adequada na organização do atendimento no território, porém as longas distâncias percorridas ainda são preocupantes.

Inpatient flow for Covid-19 in the Brazilian health regions / Fluxo de internação por Covid-19 nas regiões de saúde do Brasil

ABSTRACT The study aims to investigate the flows of Covid-19 hospitalizations in the 450 Brazilian health regions and 117 health macro-regions between March and October 2020. This descriptive study includes all Covid-19 hospitalizations registered in the Influenza Epidemiological Surveillance Information System between the eighth and forty-fourth epidemiological weeks of 2020. In Brazil, 397,830 admissions were identified for Covid-19. Emigration was 11.9% for residents in health regions and 6.8% in macro-regions; this pattern was also maintained during the peak period of Covid-19 hospitalizations. The average evasion for residents of health regions was 17.6% in the Northeast and 8.8% in the South. Evasion was more accentuated in health regions with up to 100 thousand inhabitants(36.9%), which was 7 times greater than that observed in health regions with more than 2 million inhabitants (5.2%). The negative migratory efficacy indicator (-0.39) revealed a predominance of evasion. Of the 450 Brazilian health regions, 117 (39.3%) had a coefficient of migratory efficacy between-1 and-0.75, and 113 (25.1%) between-0.75 and-0.25. Results indicate that the regionalization of the health system exhibited adequate organization of healthcare in the territory; however, the long distances traveled are still worrisome.

RESUMO Objetivou-se investigar os fluxos de internações por Covid-19 nas 450 regiões e 117 macrorregiões de saúde brasileiras, de março a outubro de 2020. Realizou-se estudo descritivo, compreendendo todas as internações por Covid-19 registradas no Sistema de Informação de Vigilância Epidemiológica da Gripe entre a 8ª e a 44ª semanas epidemiológicas de 2020. Identificaram-se 397.830 internações por Covid-19 no Brasil. A evasão foi de 11,9% dos residentes nas regiões de saúde e de 6,8% nas macrorregiões; padrão que se manteve no período de pico das internações por Covid-19. Houve, em média, 17,6% de evasão dos residentes das regiões de saúde do Nordeste e de 8,8% das do Sul. A evasão foi mais acentuada nas regiões de saúde com até 100 mil/hab. (36,9%), a qual foi 7 vezes maior que a verificada naquelas com mais de 2 milhões/habitantes (5,2%). O indicador de eficácia migratória negativo (-0,39) indicou predomínio da evasão. Das 450 regiões de saúde brasileiras, 117 (39,3%) apresentaram coeficiente de eficácia migratória entre-1 e-0,75; e 113 (25,1%), entre-0,75 e-0,25. Os resultados indicam que a regionalização do sistema de saúde mostrou-se adequada na organização do atendimento no território, porém, as longas distâncias percorridas ainda são preocupantes.

Factors associated with people's behavior in social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. / Fatores associados ao comportamento da população durante o isolamento social na pandemia de COVID-19.

This paper presents the results of an opinion poll conducted in Brazil on the perception of social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The questionnaire was prepared on Google Forms, disseminated through social networks, with questions about the socioeconomic profile and factors associated with isolation. A non-probabilistic sample was obtained with 16,440 respondents. Data were analyzed using the Stata 13 software. Social interaction was the most affected aspect among people with higher education and income (45.8%), and financial problems caused a more significant impact (35%) among people with low income and education. Those who practice some physical activity showed lower levels of stress 13%, as well as greater normality in sleep 50.3%. People who reported living in worse habitability conditions reported willingness to remain isolated for less time, 73.9%. Among non-isolated people (10.7% of the total sample), 75.8% believe that social isolation will reduce the number of victims of COVID-19. We conclude, based on this sample, that the perception about social isolation as a pandemic mitigation action varies by income, education, age, and gender. However, most believe that it is the most appropriate control measure and are willing to wait as long as necessary to contribute to the fight against COVID-19.

O artigo apresenta resultados da pesquisa de opinião realizada no Brasil sobre a percepção do isolamento social durante a pandemia de COVID-19. O questionário foi elaborado no Google Forms, disseminado por redes sociais, com questões sobre o perfil socioeconômico e fatores associados ao isolamento. Obteve-se uma amostra com 16.440 respondentes. Os dados foram analisados no software Stata 13. O convívio social foi o aspecto mais afetado entre pessoas com maior escolaridade e renda 45,8%, para pessoas de baixas renda e escolaridade, problemas financeiros provocam maior impacto 35%. Os que praticam atividade física revelaram menores níveis de estresse 13%, bem como uma maior normalidade no sono 50,3%. Pessoas que referiram residir em piores condições de habitabilidade, informaram disposição a permanecer menos tempo isoladas 73,9%. Dentre as pessoas que não estão isoladas (10,7% do total), 75,8% acredita que o isolamento social reduzirá o número de vítimas da COVID-19. Concluímos, que a percepção das pessoas quanto ao isolamento social como medida de mitigação da pandemia, varia conforme a renda, escolaridade, idade e sexo, porém a maior parte acredita que se trata da medida de controle mais indicada e estão dispostas a esperar o tempo que for necessário para contribuir com o enfrentamento à COVID-19.

Fatores associados ao comportamento da população durante o isolamento social na pandemia de COVID-19 / Factors associated with people's behavior in social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic

Resumo O artigo apresenta resultados da pesquisa de opinião realizada no Brasil sobre a percepção do isolamento social durante a pandemia de COVID-19. O questionário foi elaborado no Google Forms, disseminado por redes sociais, com questões sobre o perfil socioeconômico e fatores associados ao isolamento. Obteve-se uma amostra com 16.440 respondentes. Os dados foram analisados no software Stata 13. O convívio social foi o aspecto mais afetado entre pessoas com maior escolaridade e renda 45,8%, para pessoas de baixas renda e escolaridade, problemas financeiros provocam maior impacto 35%. Os que praticam atividade física revelaram menores níveis de estresse 13%, bem como uma maior normalidade no sono 50,3%. Pessoas que referiram residir em piores condições de habitabilidade, informaram disposição a permanecer menos tempo isoladas 73,9%. Dentre as pessoas que não estão isoladas (10,7% do total), 75,8% acredita que o isolamento social reduzirá o número de vítimas da COVID-19. Concluímos, que a percepção das pessoas quanto ao isolamento social como medida de mitigação da pandemia, varia conforme a renda, escolaridade, idade e sexo, porém a maior parte acredita que se trata da medida de controle mais indicada e estão dispostas a esperar o tempo que for necessário para contribuir com o enfrentamento à COVID-19.

Abstract This paper presents the results of an opinion poll conducted in Brazil on the perception of social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The questionnaire was prepared on Google Forms, disseminated through social networks, with questions about the socioeconomic profile and factors associated with isolation. A non-probabilistic sample was obtained with 16,440 respondents. Data were analyzed using the Stata 13 software. Social interaction was the most affected aspect among people with higher education and income (45.8%), and financial problems caused a more significant impact (35%) among people with low income and education. Those who practice some physical activity showed lower levels of stress 13%, as well as greater normality in sleep 50.3%. People who reported living in worse habitability conditions reported willingness to remain isolated for less time, 73.9%. Among non-isolated people (10.7% of the total sample), 75.8% believe that social isolation will reduce the number of victims of COVID-19. We conclude, based on this sample, that the perception about social isolation as a pandemic mitigation action varies by income, education, age, and gender. However, most believe that it is the most appropriate control measure and are willing to wait as long as necessary to contribute to the fight against COVID-19.