Lessons from the Pandemic: Usefulness of datathons and open databases in the analysis of COVID-19

Abstract

Covid-19 Latam Datathon was the origin of the present study. Analyzing open databases, it was detected that in Chile the deaths of confirmed Covid-19 cases were concentrated in regions with greatest access to hospitals, which was the opposite of what was detected in other countries of Latin America. The objective was to determine the relationship between the distribution of hospitals and mortality from COVID -19 in Chile. The percentage of confirmed cases from March 2020 to August 2021 was analyzed by regions of the country. The analysis was based on the open database of the Chilean Ministry of Health. Geolocation was used to analyze the distribution of health establishments, confirmed cases and deaths. A positive correlation was observed between mortality and the number of hospitals (R = 0.54, p=0.02).It is known that in large cities there are factors such as the segregation of vulnerable groups and environmental contamination that determine the higher mortality from infectious-contagious diseases. However, in the analyzed database it was not possible to find regional information that would help in the interpretation of the results. The datathon allowed us to glimpse the global need to have open, complete, updated databases, which would make it possible to analyze the variables that determine the causes and prevent the consequences of natural disasters or pandemics such as COVID-19. This will help in the future to reduce analysis biases and to help governments to act promptly in the most vulnerable sites to reduce mortality and economic consequences.