Abstract
BackgroundHeterogeneous government responses have been reported in reaction to COVID-19. The aim of this study is to generate an exploratory review of healthcare policies published during COVID-19 by health-care institutions in Mexico. Analyzing policies within different health sub-systems becomes imperative in the Mexican case due to the longstanding fragmentation of the health-care system and health inequalities. Data and MethodsPolicies purposely included in the analysis were published by four public health institutions (IMSS, ISSSTE, SSA and PEMEX) during the COVID-19 epidemic in Mexico (from February 29th to June 15th, 2020) on official institutional websites. Researchers reviewed each document and classified them into seven policy categories set by the Rapid Research Evaluation and Appraisal Lab (RREAL): public health response, health-care delivery, human resources, health-system infrastructure and supplies, clinical response, health-care management, and epidemiological surveillance. ResultsPolicy types varied by health institution. The largest number of policies were aimed at public health responses followed by health-care delivery and human resources. Policies were mainly published during the community transmission phase. ConclusionsThe pandemic exposed underlying health-care system inequalities and a reactive rather than prepared response to the outbreak. Additionally, this study outlines potential policy gaps and delays in the response that could be avoided in the future.
Highlights
Heterogeneous government responses have been reported in reaction to COVID-19
After stratifying by COVID-19 phases used by the Mexican government, results show 17% were published during phase one, 48% in phase two, and 35% in phase three (Figure 1)
Overview of the number of policies published by COVID-19 phases under the Mexican epidemiological context
Summary
The aim of this study is to generate an exploratory review of healthcare policies published during COVID-19 by health-care institutions in Mexico. Policies purposely included in the analysis were published by four public health institutions (IMSS, ISSSTE, SSA and PEMEX) during the COVID-19 epidemic in Mexico (from February 29th to June 15th, 2020) on official institutional websites. Researchers reviewed each document and classified them into seven policy categories set by the [blinded] team: public health response, health-care delivery, human resources, health-system infrastructure and supplies, clinical response, health-care management, and epidemiological surveillance. The largest number of policies were aimed at public health responses followed by health-care delivery and human resources. Conclusions: The pandemic exposed underlying health-care system inequalities and a reactive rather than prepared response to the outbreak. This study outlines potential policy gaps and delays in the response that could be avoided in the future
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