OCORRÊNCIA DE INFECÇÃO E MORTALIDADE POR COVID-19  EM RESIDENCIAIS PARA IDOSOS NO BRASIL

Patrick Alexander Wachholz; Virgilio Garcia Moreira; Déborah  Oliveira; Helena Akemi Wada  Watanabe; Paulo José Fortes  Villas Boas

doi:10.1590/SciELOPreprints.1032

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Patrick Alexander Wachholz Botucatu Medical School - São Paulo State University (UNESP)
Virgilio Garcia Moreira Laboratório de Pesquisas em Envelhecimento Humano – GeronLab – Departamento de Medicina Interna, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4932-1935
Déborah Oliveira Departamento de Psiquiatria, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo -UNIFESP, Brasil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6616-533X
Helena Akemi Wada Watanabe Department of Politics, Management and Health, Public Health School of the University of São Paulo, São Paulo - SP, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3951-9091
Paulo José Fortes Villas Boas Departamento de Clínica Médica, Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu, Universidade Estadual Paulista - UNESP, Brasil https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9876-3222

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/SciELOPreprints.1032

Keywords:

long-term care, COVID-19, aged, care homes, homes for the aged

Abstract

Introduction: Mortality rates due to COVID-19 in older people living in long-term care homes reach 80% in some countries. In Brazil, little is known about the incidence and mortality in this population.

Objective: To describe the occurrence of COVID-19 infection and mortality in care homes for the older people in Brazil.

Methods: Cross-sectional and descriptive study using primary and secondary sources and non-probabilistic sampling. Between April and June 2020, through an electronic questionnaire, care homes administrators from all over Brazil were invited to report the occurrence of infection and mortality of residents by COVID-19. In addition, an active search for data was carried out with the services of the State Public Prosecutor Offices, State Health Departments and the Unified Social Assistance System. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Results: Information from 1,802 care homes from 11 states was analyzed, where 42,216 older people lived. The incidence rate of COVID-19 was 6.14%, and 458 deaths were recorded in the period, with a case-fatality rate of 17.65%.

Conclusion: The incidence and fatality observed in this study were lower than the rates observed in other countries. However, given the limitations regarding the collection of information and other barriers to the study, new structured data sources are essential for understanding the spread of the virus in care homes in the country.