COVID-19 in the municipalities of a macro-region of Minas Gerais and associated factors

• Autor(a) principal: Nogueira, Mário Círio
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Outros Autores: Lage de Paula, Henrique, Cristina Gonçalves Leite, Isabel, Teresa Bustamante-Teixeira, Maria
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: HU Revista (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.ufjf.br/index.php/hurevista/article/view/35294
• topic: COVID-19; Análise Espacial; Vulnerabilidade em Saúde; COVID-19; Spatial Analysis; Health Vulnerability

Introduction: The COVID-19 epidemic in Brazil began in large urban centers and spread to other municipalities over the following months. Objective: To describe the spatial distribution of the incidence of notified cases and mortality by COVID-19 in the municipalities of the Southeastern Minas Gerais health macro-region, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) municipality typology. Material and Methods: Ecological study that had the municipalities of the Southeastern Minas Gerais health macro-region as units of analysis. COVID-19 data were obtained from the virtual platform of the Federal University of Viçosa and the incidence and mortality rates were calculated for each of the municipalities in the macro-region between March 2020 and February 2021. Socioeconomic variables (from the 2010 Census) and health-care variables (from the DATASUS website) were also obtained for these municipalities. Comparisons were made between epidemiological, socioeconomic, and healthcare variables, by types of municipalities, using the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: The distribution of socioeconomic and epidemiological indicators among the municipalities that make up the macro-region was heterogeneous. Predominantly urban municipalities had higher incidence and mortality from COVID-19 than adjacent rural ones. However, adjacent rural municipalities presented, in general, worse socioeconomic indicators when compared to predominantly urban ones. There was no significant difference between adjacent intermediates and other types regarding the indicators evaluated. Conclusion: Although the COVID-19 epidemic first reached the largest, most urbanized and with greater communication with large urban centers municipalities, over time it has been internalized and eventually reached all municipalities in the region.