Who is going to turn on the ventilators?

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Healthcare Management
• Epidemiology

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted disparities in healthcare resources within Brazil, an emerging economy with significant regional differences.
• Availability of specialized human resources is crucial for managing critical care units effectively.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the human resource availability for intensive care units (ICUs) in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• To assess the sufficiency of critical care professionals in relation to ICU bed capacity and World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations.

Main Methods:

• Georeferencing healthcare professionals involved in COVID-19 care using the National Registry of Health Facilities database.
• Correlating the number of professionals (physicians, nurses, intensivists, respiratory therapists) with WHO parameters and ICU bed ratios per state.
• Organizing data on professionals, beds, and cases by Brazilian state.

Main Results:

• Physician numbers met WHO recommendations, but nurse numbers did not.
• A significant deficit in intensivists, registered nurses, specialized nurse technicians, and respiratory therapists was observed for every ten ICU beds.
• Complete critical care teams were available for only 10% of ICU beds nationwide.

Conclusions:

• Brazil experiences a substantial shortage of essential personnel for intensive care units.
• Efficient utilization of physical ICU resources is contingent upon adequate, specialized human resources.
• Strategic human resource planning is as critical as infrastructure development for intensive care services.