0218/2022 - Distribuição da COVID-19 e dos recursos de saúde na Amazônia legal: uma análise espacial Distribution of COVID-19 and health resources in the Legal Amazon: a spatial analysis
O método de análise espacial permite mensurar a acessibilidade espacial dos serviços de saúde para alocação dos recursos de forma eficiente e eficaz. Diante disso, o objetivo deste estudo foi analisar a distribuição espacial das taxas de COVID-19 e dos recursos de saúde na Amazônia Legal. Estudo ecológico, realizado com casos de COVID-19 e os recursos de saúde nos 772 municípios em dois picos da pandemia. Utilizou-se o método bayesiano global e local para elaboração de mapas coropléticos, com cálculo do índice de Moran para análise da dependência espacial e utilização do MoranMap para identificação dos cluster da doença. Os índices de Moran calculados para os dois períodos demonstraram autocorrelação espacial positiva dessa distribuição e dependência espacial entre os municípios nos dois períodos, sem muita diferença entre os dois estimadores. Evidenciaram-se maiores taxas da doença nos estados do Amapá, Amazonas e Roraima. Em relação aos recursos de saúde, observou-se alocação de forma ineficiente, com maior concentração nas capitais.
The spatial analysis method allows measuring the spatial accessibility of health services to allocate resources efficiently and effectively. Therefore, the objective of this study was to analyze the spatial distribution o COVID-19 rates and health resources in the Amazonia Legal. Ecological study, carried out with COVID-19 case and health resources in 772 municipalities at two peaks of the pandemic. The global and local bayesian method were used for the elaboration of choropleth maps, with calculation of the Moran index to analyze the spatial dependence and use of the MoranMap to identify clusters of the disease. The Moran índices calculated for the two periods showed a positive spatial autocorrelation of this distribution and spatial dependence between the municipalities in the two periods, without much difference between the two estimators. Higther rates of the disease were observed in the states of Amapá, Amazonas and Roraima. In relation to health resources, an ineficiente allocation was observed, with greater concentration in the capitals.
Keywords:
COVID-19; Spatial analysis; Ecological studies; Mechanical ventilator; Intensive care units
Distribution of COVID-19 and health resources in the Legal Amazon: a spatial analysis
Resumo (abstract):
The spatial analysis method allows measuring the spatial accessibility of health services to allocate resources efficiently and effectively. Therefore, the objective of this study was to analyze the spatial distribution o COVID-19 rates and health resources in the Amazonia Legal. Ecological study, carried out with COVID-19 case and health resources in 772 municipalities at two peaks of the pandemic. The global and local bayesian method were used for the elaboration of choropleth maps, with calculation of the Moran index to analyze the spatial dependence and use of the MoranMap to identify clusters of the disease. The Moran índices calculated for the two periods showed a positive spatial autocorrelation of this distribution and spatial dependence between the municipalities in the two periods, without much difference between the two estimators. Higther rates of the disease were observed in the states of Amapá, Amazonas and Roraima. In relation to health resources, an ineficiente allocation was observed, with greater concentration in the capitals.
Palavras-chave (keywords):
COVID-19; Spatial analysis; Ecological studies; Mechanical ventilator; Intensive care units
Distribuição da COVID-19 e dos recursos de saúde na Amazônia legal: uma análise espacial
Distribution of COVID-19 cases and health resources in Brazil’s Amazon region: a spatial analysis
Adriana Arruda Barbosa Rezende1, Reijane Pinheiro da Silva2, Nathália Lima Pedrosa3, Rodolfo Alves da Luz4, Adriano Nascimento da Paixão5, Waldecy Rodrigues6, Mônica Aparecida da Rocha Silva7, Augusto de Rezende Campos8
1Universidade Federal do Tocantins-UFT, email: drikas.arruda@gmail.com, ORCID 0000-0003-3642-3024
2Universidade Federal do Tocantins-UFT, email: reipinheiro@mail.uft.edu.br, ORCID 0000-0002-0636-9795
3Universidade de Brasília-UNB, email: nati.ufc@gmail.com, ORCID 0000-0002-5945-7297
4Universidade Federal do Tocantins-UFT, email: rodolfodaluz@mail.uft.edu.br, ORCID 0000-0002-6608-4898
5Universidade Federal do Tocantins-UFT, email: anpaixao@gmail.com, ORCID 0000-0002-2717-3716
6Universidade Federal do Tocantins-UFT, email: waldecy@mail.uft.edu.br, ORCID 0000-0002-5584-6586
7Universidade Federal do Tocantins-UFT, email: monicars@uft.edu.br, ORCID 0000-0002-3323-7712
8Universidade Estadual do Tocantins-UNITINS, email: augusto.rc@unitins.br, ORCID 0000-0003-4530-2945
RESUMO
O método de análise espacial permite mensurar a acessibilidade espacial dos serviços de saúde para alocação dos recursos de forma eficiente e eficaz. Diante disso, o objetivo deste estudo foi analisar a distribuição espacial das taxas de COVID-19 e dos recursos de saúde na Amazônia Legal. Estudo ecológico, realizado com casos de COVID-19 e os recursos de saúde nos 772 municípios em dois picos da pandemia. Utilizou-se o método bayesiano global e local para elaboração de mapas coropléticos, com cálculo do índice de Moran para análise da dependência espacial e utilização do MoranMap para identificação dos cluster da doença. Os índices de Moran calculados para os dois períodos demonstraram autocorrelação espacial positiva dessa distribuição e dependência espacial entre os municípios nos dois períodos, sem muita diferença entre os dois estimadores. Evidenciaram-se maiores taxas da doença nos estados do Amapá, Amazonas e Roraima. Em relação aos recursos de saúde, observou-se alocação de forma ineficiente, com maior concentração nas capitais.
Palavras chaves: COVID-19; Análise espacial; Estudos ecológicos; Ventiladores mecânicos; Unidades de terapia intensiva.
ABSTRACT
Spatial analysis can help measure the spatial accessibility of health services with a view to improving the allocation of health care resources. The objective of this study was to analyze the spatial distribution of COVID-19 detection rates and health care resources in Brazil’s Amazon region. We conducted an ecological study using data on COVID-19 cases and the availability of health care resources in 772 municipalities during two waves of the pandemic. Local and global Bayesian estimation were used to construct choropleth maps. Moran’s I was calculated to detect the presence of spatial dependence and Moran maps were used to identify disease clusters. In both periods, Moran’s I values indicate the presence of positive spatial autocorrelation in distributions and spatial dependence between municipalities, with only a slight difference between the two estimators. The findings also reveal that case rates were highest in the states of Amapá, Amazonas, and Roraima. The data suggest that health care resources were inefficiently allocated, with higher concentrations of ventilators and ICU beds being found in state capitals.
Keywords: COVID-19; Spatial analysis; Ecological studies; Mechanical ventilators; Intensive care units
INTRODUCTION
Brazil is the only country in the world with a population of over 100 million with a universal health care system1. This system, which for decades has helped reduce inequalities in access to health care, was overwhelmed during the pandemic as Brazil was among the countries hardest hit by COVID-19, leading Latin America to be declared the epicenter of the pandemic in May and June 20202.
Despite having an extensive primary care network, Brazil faced the largest health and hospital system collapse in the country’s history during the pandemic. Adult COVID-19 intensive care unit (ICU) bed occupancy rates in the country\'s public health system, the Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) or Unified Health System, in March 2021 were greater than or equal to 80% in 24 states and the Federal District, with 15 states having rates of at least 90%3.
Between 17% and 35% of non-vaccinated patients hospitalized with COVID-19 need to be admitted to an ICU, mainly due to hypoxemic respiratory failure. In addition, between 29% and 91% of COVID-19 patients who have hypoxemic respiratory failure need invasive ventilatory support4-6.
The SARS-CoV-2 virus is highly transmissible and most individuals are susceptible to infection7. The spread of the virus is a complex process influenced by demographic characteristics, population mobility, and the environment, meaning that transmissibility varies greatly between countries and regions and over time5.
Despite having a low population density, Brazil’s Amazon region in the North of the country had a high concentration of COVID-19 cases8. The Amazon is a multifaceted and socially and environmentally diverse region with populous cities intermingled with sparsely populated areas isolated from large urban centers. The region also has a large concentration of traditional and indigenous peoples living in remote rural areas, including riverine, fishing, and Quilombola communities. The Amazon is also characterized by social, economic, and health disparities, combined with rapid population and economic growth and high income concentration, and a large proportion of the population suffer from poor living conditions9.
Manaus, capital of the state of Amazonas, was surprised by a sharp rise in the number of cases and deaths in April 202010, putting considerable pressure on the city’s health services. Geographical barriers have been used as a justification for difficulties in developing interiorized actions and providing access to the three tiers of health care across the Amazon11.
Mapping patterns in the distribution of the disease and physical health care resources can therefore help to understand the current dynamics of access to care and identify areas that are most vulnerable to the pandemic. This understanding can help support the implementation of measures to control the spread of the virus, prevent local outbreaks, and guide resource allocation, improving the accessibility of intensive care for critically ill patients. In light of the above, the aim of the present study was to analyze the spatial distribution of COVID-19 detection rates and the availability of health care resources in Brazil’s Amazon region.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We conducted an ecological study using data on the distribution of COVID-19 detection rates and health care resources (COVID-19 ICU beds and mechanical ventilators) in Brazil’s Amazon region.
The units of analysis were the 772 municipalities in the Amazon region, which is made up of the states of Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Mato Grosso, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima, Tocantins and part of Maranhão. The Amazon covers an area of 5,015,067.75 km² (58.9% of the country) and population density is low across most of the region12.
We used data on cases of COVID-19 detected during the period 25 February 2020 (date of the first recorded case) to 31 March 2021, considering the cumulative total of cases up to July 2020 and up to March 2021. These periods were chosen because they include two peaks of the pandemic in Brazil, as can be seen on the graph of cases per epidemiological week on the World Health Organisation’s website13.
The number of COVID-19 cases per municipality of residence was extracted from the Ministry of Health coronavirus platform on 10 April 202114. These data are constantly updated and corrected. In this regard, the municipality where the cases is notified is not always the same as the municipality of residence, with the latter being corrected after the completion of the investigation process. A total of 1,860,217 cases were recorded during the study period, including 559,349 up to the first peak in July 2020.
To calculate the municipal case detection rates, we used 2020 population estimates published by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics15.
We calculated cumulative crude municipal case detection rates (number of cases divided by total population multiplied by 100,000) and smoothed rates using the global Bayesian estimator, which calculates the weighted average between the local and regional rate, and local Bayesian estimator, which considers the spatial effects of estimates in neighboring municipalities16.
The estimators reduce random rate fluctuations and can indicate priority areas for health actions (where rates are more pronounced even after smoothing) and, in the case of the local Bayesian estimator, take into account trends in neighboring areas. For the local Bayesian estimator, we considered first-order neighbors, i.e. only immediate neighbors. Choropleth maps were created to visualize the distribution of rates, graduating values using natural breaks.
Moran\'s I was calculated to determine the spatial dependence in the distribution of the global and local Bayesian rates. The index ranges between -1 and +1, with positive values indicating spatial dependence and negative values indicating negative spatial correlation. Values close to 0 indicate no spatial autocorrelation. A neighborhood contiguity matrix was created adopting a 5% significance level.
A Moran scatter plot of the detection coefficient calculated using the local Bayesian estimator was used to determine spatial patterns. A Moran map was used to identify statistically significant clusters of areas with high values with neighbors with high values (Q1 - high-high pattern), areas with low values with neighbors with low values (Q2 - low-low pattern), and transition areas (Q3 - high-low pattern and Q4 - low-high pattern).
The data on mechanical ventilators and COVID-19 ICU beds were collected from the National Register of Health Establishments (CNES)17. The number of beds and mechanical ventilators was represented using proportional circles placed over the municipality’s administrative center. This information was superimposed over the Moran map to compare numbers with case clusters.
Data processing, georeferencing, spatial analysis, and mapping were performed using Excel 2013, GeoDa 1.18.0, and QGIS 3.18.1. Pearson\'s chi-squared test was used to determine the correlation between variables in the two waves adopting a 95% confidence level. Pearson\'s chi-squared test and the descriptive analyses were performed using SPSS.
The study did not require ethical approval as it was conducted using secondary data available in the public domain.
RESULTS
The total number of COVID-19 cases/100,000 population rose from 1.99 during the first wave (up to 31 July 2020) to 6.62 cases/100,000 population in the second wave (up to 31 March 2021). Table 1 shows the data for the first and second wave.
<< Table 1>>
Local and global Moran’s I were 0.44 (p = 0.001) and 0.43 (p = 0.001) during the first wave and 0.46 (p = 0.001) and 0.45 (p = 0.001) in the second. The values indicate that the distribution displays positive spatial autocorrelation and spatial dependence between municipalities in both periods, with only a slight difference between the two estimators.
Figures 1 and 2 present the distribution of the cumulative crude COVID-19 detection rates and smoothed rates for both periods. The maps show that there was only a slight variation between crude and smoothed rates in both waves.
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ARRUDA, A., Silva, R.P., Pedrosa, N.L, Luz, R.A., Paixão, Adriano Nascimento, Rodrigues, W., Silva, M.A.R., Campos, A.R.. Distribuição da COVID-19 e dos recursos de saúde na Amazônia legal: uma análise espacial. Cien Saude Colet [periódico na internet] (2022/ago). [Citado em 24/12/2024].
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