Health care patterns and policies in 18 European countries during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: an observational study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has developed into an unprecedented global challenge. Differences between countries in testing strategies, hospitalization protocols as well as ensuring and managing ICU capacities can illustrate initial responses to a major health system shock, and steer future preparedness activities.

Methods

Publicly available daily data for 18 European countries were retrieved manually from official sources and documented in an Excel table (March-July 2020). The ratio of tests to cases, the share of hospitalizations out of all cases and the share of ICU admissions out of all hospitalizations were computed using 7-day rolling averages per 100 000 population. Information on country policies was collected from the COVID-19 Health S

SUBMITTER: Panteli D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9341638 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature