. Moslem Soofi; . Behzad Karami Matin; . Ali Kazemi Karyani; . Satar Rezaei; . Shahin Soltani
Volume 11, Issue 6 , July 2021, , Pages 1-6
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The COVID‑19 pandemic has spread rapidly across the world and has currentlyimpacted most countries and territories globally. This study aimed to identify health‑care ...
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BACKGROUND: The COVID‑19 pandemic has spread rapidly across the world and has currentlyimpacted most countries and territories globally. This study aimed to identify health‑care determinantsof mortality and recovery rates of COVID‑19 and compare the efficiency of health systems in responseto this pandemic.MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross‑sectional study was conducted using data obtained from theWorld Bank database, that provides free and open access to a comprehensive set of health‑ andsocioeconomic‑related data, by September 12, 2020. An adjusted linear regression model wasapplied to determine predictors of mortality (per 1 million population [MP]) and recovery rates (per 1MP) in the included countries. One‑way analysis of variance was applied to assess health systems’efficiency in response to COVID‑19 pandemic using mortality and recovery rate (output variables)and current health expenditure (CHE) per capita (input variable).RESULTS: Globally, San Marino and Qatar had the highest mortality rate (1237/1 MP) and confirmedcase rate (43,280/1 MP) until September 12, 2020, respectively. Iran had a higher mortality rate (273/1MP vs. 214.5/1 MP) and lower recovery rate (4091.5/1 MP vs. 6477.2/1 MP) compared to countrieswith high CHE per capita. CHE per capita (standardized coefficient [SC] = 0.605, P < 0.001) andpopulation aged 65 years and over as a percentage of total population (SC = −0.79, P < 0.001)significantly predicted recovered cases from COVID‑19 in the included countries.CONCLUSION: This study revealed that countries with higher CHE per capita and higher proportion ofolder adults were more likely to have a higher recovery rate than those with lower ones. Furthermore,our study indicated that health systems with higher CHE per capita statistically had a greater efficiencyin response to COVID‑19 compared to those with lower CHE per capita. More attention to preventivestrategies, early detection, and early intervention is suggested to improve the health system efficiencyin controlling COVID‑19 and its related mortalities worldwide.