Hospitalization, mortality and public healthcare expenditure in Brazil during the COVID-19 crisis: vulnerabilities in the spotlight

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Multiple opinion-based communications have highlighted the actions of the Brazilian government during the pandemic. Nevertheless, none have appraised public data to identify factors associated with worsening of the healthcare system. OBJECTIVE: To analyze and collate data from public health and treasury information systems in order to understand the escalating process of weakening of Brazilian healthcare and welfare since the beginning of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. DESIGN AND SETTING: Secondary data study conducted using multiple public databases administered by the Brazilian federal government. METHODS: We processed information from multiple national databases and appraised health and economic-related data. RESULTS: Based on our analyses, there were substantial reductions in inpatient hospital admissions and in the numbers of patients seeking primary care services, along with a decrease in immunization coverage. Moreover, we observed a considerable decline in government transfers to hospital services (reduction of 82.0%) and a diminution of public outlays in several healthcare-related subfunctions (“hospital and outpatient care”, “primary care”, “prophylactic and therapeutic support” and “epidemiological surveillance”). We observed an increase in the overall mortality rate over the period analyzed, especially regarding all group-based diseases. Notably, there were remarkable differences among geographic, racial, gender and other parameters, thus revealing the impact of vulnerabilities on COVID-19 outcomes. CONCLUSION: This assessment of documentation of public expenditure and the shrinkage of investment in sensitive areas of the healthcare system in Brazil emphasized areas that still require collective attention in order to guarantee national welfare.

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Main Authors: Nascimento,Israel Júnior Borges do, Oliveira,Ana Luíza Matos de, Diniz,Paulo Henrique Costa, Leite,Maria de Fatima, Oliveira,Graziella Lage
Format: Digital revista
Language:English
Published: Associação Paulista de Medicina - APM 2022
Online Access:http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-31802022000200290
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spelling oai:scielo:S1516-318020220002002902022-03-10Hospitalization, mortality and public healthcare expenditure in Brazil during the COVID-19 crisis: vulnerabilities in the spotlightNascimento,Israel Júnior Borges doOliveira,Ana Luíza Matos deDiniz,Paulo Henrique CostaLeite,Maria de FatimaOliveira,Graziella Lage SARS-CoV-2 Brazil Public Health Data Management Health Expenditures Inequality Hospitalization All-cause mortality COVID-19 crisis ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Multiple opinion-based communications have highlighted the actions of the Brazilian government during the pandemic. Nevertheless, none have appraised public data to identify factors associated with worsening of the healthcare system. OBJECTIVE: To analyze and collate data from public health and treasury information systems in order to understand the escalating process of weakening of Brazilian healthcare and welfare since the beginning of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. DESIGN AND SETTING: Secondary data study conducted using multiple public databases administered by the Brazilian federal government. METHODS: We processed information from multiple national databases and appraised health and economic-related data. RESULTS: Based on our analyses, there were substantial reductions in inpatient hospital admissions and in the numbers of patients seeking primary care services, along with a decrease in immunization coverage. Moreover, we observed a considerable decline in government transfers to hospital services (reduction of 82.0%) and a diminution of public outlays in several healthcare-related subfunctions (“hospital and outpatient care”, “primary care”, “prophylactic and therapeutic support” and “epidemiological surveillance”). We observed an increase in the overall mortality rate over the period analyzed, especially regarding all group-based diseases. Notably, there were remarkable differences among geographic, racial, gender and other parameters, thus revealing the impact of vulnerabilities on COVID-19 outcomes. CONCLUSION: This assessment of documentation of public expenditure and the shrinkage of investment in sensitive areas of the healthcare system in Brazil emphasized areas that still require collective attention in order to guarantee national welfare.info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessAssociação Paulista de Medicina - APMSao Paulo Medical Journal v.140 n.2 20222022-02-01info:eu-repo/semantics/articletext/htmlhttp://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-31802022000200290en10.1590/1516-3180.2021.0496.23072021
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country Brasil
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language English
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author Nascimento,Israel Júnior Borges do
Oliveira,Ana Luíza Matos de
Diniz,Paulo Henrique Costa
Leite,Maria de Fatima
Oliveira,Graziella Lage
spellingShingle Nascimento,Israel Júnior Borges do
Oliveira,Ana Luíza Matos de
Diniz,Paulo Henrique Costa
Leite,Maria de Fatima
Oliveira,Graziella Lage
Hospitalization, mortality and public healthcare expenditure in Brazil during the COVID-19 crisis: vulnerabilities in the spotlight
author_facet Nascimento,Israel Júnior Borges do
Oliveira,Ana Luíza Matos de
Diniz,Paulo Henrique Costa
Leite,Maria de Fatima
Oliveira,Graziella Lage
author_sort Nascimento,Israel Júnior Borges do
title Hospitalization, mortality and public healthcare expenditure in Brazil during the COVID-19 crisis: vulnerabilities in the spotlight
title_short Hospitalization, mortality and public healthcare expenditure in Brazil during the COVID-19 crisis: vulnerabilities in the spotlight
title_full Hospitalization, mortality and public healthcare expenditure in Brazil during the COVID-19 crisis: vulnerabilities in the spotlight
title_fullStr Hospitalization, mortality and public healthcare expenditure in Brazil during the COVID-19 crisis: vulnerabilities in the spotlight
title_full_unstemmed Hospitalization, mortality and public healthcare expenditure in Brazil during the COVID-19 crisis: vulnerabilities in the spotlight
title_sort hospitalization, mortality and public healthcare expenditure in brazil during the covid-19 crisis: vulnerabilities in the spotlight
description ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Multiple opinion-based communications have highlighted the actions of the Brazilian government during the pandemic. Nevertheless, none have appraised public data to identify factors associated with worsening of the healthcare system. OBJECTIVE: To analyze and collate data from public health and treasury information systems in order to understand the escalating process of weakening of Brazilian healthcare and welfare since the beginning of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. DESIGN AND SETTING: Secondary data study conducted using multiple public databases administered by the Brazilian federal government. METHODS: We processed information from multiple national databases and appraised health and economic-related data. RESULTS: Based on our analyses, there were substantial reductions in inpatient hospital admissions and in the numbers of patients seeking primary care services, along with a decrease in immunization coverage. Moreover, we observed a considerable decline in government transfers to hospital services (reduction of 82.0%) and a diminution of public outlays in several healthcare-related subfunctions (“hospital and outpatient care”, “primary care”, “prophylactic and therapeutic support” and “epidemiological surveillance”). We observed an increase in the overall mortality rate over the period analyzed, especially regarding all group-based diseases. Notably, there were remarkable differences among geographic, racial, gender and other parameters, thus revealing the impact of vulnerabilities on COVID-19 outcomes. CONCLUSION: This assessment of documentation of public expenditure and the shrinkage of investment in sensitive areas of the healthcare system in Brazil emphasized areas that still require collective attention in order to guarantee national welfare.
publisher Associação Paulista de Medicina - APM
publishDate 2022
url http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-31802022000200290
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