Healthcare infrastructure and flows in the dissemination and care of Covid-19 patients in São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil

Fijo en salud y flujos en la difusión y atención de pacientes con Covid-19 en São Luís, Maranhão, Brasil

Abstract

This work aims to discuss the dynamics of the spread of Covid-19 in Maranhão from the flows triggered, during the pandemic, by people seeking care in São Luís. It also discusses the selectivity with which the territory of Maranhão is used by healthcare companies, resulting in density zones, like São Luís, and sparsity zones, like most of the other centers of the state. In the pandemic, this region generated flows of people seeking diagnosis and treatment, expanding areas of contagion, and weakening the healthcare system. Methodologically, the work analyzes the distribution of medical and hospital equipment and fixed healthcare equipment to discuss the mobility of people, which was aggravated by the pandemic. The data is mostly from the Health Information System and the National Registry of Health Facilities in Brazil (both from Datasus and the Brazilian Ministry of Health) and from the Maranhão State Department of Health. The results indicate that Covid-19 intensified the flow of people to São Luís, expanding the area of contagion and the number of deaths in the capital.

Keywords:
Medical-hospital equipment; Flow in healthcare; Covid-19; São Luís-MA