Langan Denhard1, Parisa Kaviany2, Sérgio Chicumbe3, Cláudio Muianga4, Guitunga Laisse5, Kyle Aune6, Ashley Sheffel6. 1. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. ldenhar1@alumni.jh.edu. 2. Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. 3. Programa de Sistemas de Saúde, Instituto Nacional de Saúde, Maputo, Mozambique. 4. World Health Organization, Maputo, Mozambique. 5. Hlayisa Project- Nweti, Maputo, Mozambique. 6. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: This study aims to assess the COVID-19 response preparedness of the Mozambican health system by 1) determining the location of oxygen-ready public health facilities, 2) estimating the oxygen treatment capacity, and 3) determining the population coverage of oxygen-ready health facilities in Mozambique. METHODS: This analysis utilizes information on the availability of oxygen sources and delivery apparatuses to determine if a health facility is ready to deliver oxygen therapy to patients in need, and estimates how many patients can be treated with continuous oxygen flow for a 7-day period based on the available oxygen equipment at health facilities. Using GIS mapping software, the study team modeled varying travel times to oxygen-ready facilities to estimate the proportion of the population with access to care. RESULTS: 0.4% of all health facilities in Mozambique are prepared to deliver oxygen therapy to patients, for a cumulative total of 283.9 to 406.0 patients-weeks given the existing national capacity, under varying assumptions including ability to divert oxygen from a single source to multiple patients. 35% of the population in Mozambique has adequate access within one-hour driving time of an oxygen-ready health facility. This varies widely by region; 89.1% of the population of Maputo City was captured by the one-hour driving time network, as compared ot 4.4% of the population of Niassa province. CONCLUSIONS: The Mozambican health system faces the dual challenges of under-resourced health facilities and low geographic accessibility to healthcare as it prepares to confront the COVID-19 pandemic. This analysis also illustrates the disparity between provinces in preparedness to deliver oxygen therapy to patient, with Cabo Delgado and Nampula being particularly under-resourced.
BACKGROUND: This study aims to assess the COVID-19 response preparedness of the Mozambican health system by 1) determining the location of oxygen-ready public health facilities, 2) estimating the oxygen treatment capacity, and 3) determining the population coverage of oxygen-ready health facilities in Mozambique. METHODS: This analysis utilizes information on the availability of oxygen sources and delivery apparatuses to determine if a health facility is ready to deliver oxygen therapy to patients in need, and estimates how many patients can be treated with continuous oxygen flow for a 7-day period based on the available oxygen equipment at health facilities. Using GIS mapping software, the study team modeled varying travel times to oxygen-ready facilities to estimate the proportion of the population with access to care. RESULTS: 0.4% of all health facilities in Mozambique are prepared to deliver oxygen therapy to patients, for a cumulative total of 283.9 to 406.0 patients-weeks given the existing national capacity, under varying assumptions including ability to divert oxygen from a single source to multiple patients. 35% of the population in Mozambique has adequate access within one-hour driving time of an oxygen-ready health facility. This varies widely by region; 89.1% of the population of Maputo City was captured by the one-hour driving time network, as compared ot 4.4% of the population of Niassa province. CONCLUSIONS: The Mozambican health system faces the dual challenges of under-resourced health facilities and low geographic accessibility to healthcare as it prepares to confront the COVID-19 pandemic. This analysis also illustrates the disparity between provinces in preparedness to deliver oxygen therapy to patient, with Cabo Delgado and Nampula being particularly under-resourced.
Entities:
Keywords:
COVID-19; Geographic information systems; Modelling; Mozambique; Oxygen; Preparedness
Authors: Sami Petricola; Marcel Reinmuth; Sven Lautenbach; Charles Hatfield; Alexander Zipf Journal: Int J Health Geogr Date: 2022-10-12 Impact factor: 5.310