Introduction
There has been a strain on healthcare resources during and after Covid-19. The number of hospital patients is unprecedented, and healthcare professionals are experiencing unusual stress and anxiety levels. Therefore, to provide care for COVID-19 patients, healthcare systems have been forced to reduce elective procedures and surgeries drastically. Many healthcare workers are physically and mentally exhausted due to long hours and increased workloads. It is essential for healthcare systems to prioritize patient care and adequately support healthcare workers.
Additionally, it is crucial to ensure that healthcare systems are adequately funded to meet the pandemic’s demands. Governments should increase funding for healthcare systems and invest in supporting infrastructure. In addition, it is essential to ensure that healthcare professionals are adequately compensated and have access to the necessary resources and support. The focus of healthcare systems should be on strategies to improve access to care, such as expanding the scope of practice for healthcare providers, providing remote maintenance, and developing innovative approaches to care delivery.
Research Interest
Understanding how healthcare resources are affected during and after the pandemic is the focus of my research. Specifically, how the availability of healthcare resources has changed over time and what strategies are being employed to address the shortages. I would also like to investigate how the pandemic has altered the delivery of medical care and how this has affected patient outcomes. Lastly, I am curious about how Covid-19 has impacted healthcare resources, such as alterations in the distribution of healthcare services and the financial viability of the healthcare system. To comprehend the overall impact of the pandemic on healthcare resources, I intend to apply a combination of research methodologies. This will need combining quantitative and qualitative data, such as changes in resource availability and utilization, as well as interviews with medical personnel and patients. This will allow me better to understand the pandemic’s effects and the healthcare system. Through my research, I aim to understand better the challenges faced by the healthcare system during and after the pandemic and develop strategies to improve patient outcomes and access to healthcare resources. This research is significant because it can inform policy decisions to ensure the healthcare system’s long-term viability.
Annotated Bibliography
Farrell, T. W., Francis, L., Brown, T., Ferrante, L. E., Widera, E., Rhodes, R., … & Saliba, D. (2020). Rationing limited healthcare resources in the COVID‐19 era and beyond: ethical considerations regarding older adults. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 68(6), 1143-1149. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.16539
The article discusses ethical considerations regarding rationing healthcare resources. This article focuses on the ethical implications of rationing scarce healthcare resources during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, particularly for the elderly. It discusses the ethical dilemmas associated with allocating scarce resources such as ventilators and ICU beds and how to ensure that older adults have fair and equitable access to these resources. It also examines how to ensure that decisions are based on the unique needs of each patient and not their age. The article concludes by emphasizing the significance of transparency in the rationing process and its role in ensuring that decisions are fair and just. Overall, the article argues that rationing must be conducted with an ethical perspective to ensure fairness and equity for all parties involved. According to the article’s findings, when resources are allocated specifically for the benefit of older adults, all stakeholders must be involved. This is being done to ensure that all pertinent and thoughtful concerns are addressed.
Wahlster, S., Sharma, M., Lewis, A. K., Patel, P. V., Hartog, C. S., Jannotta, G., … & Creutzfeldt, C. J. (2021). The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic’s effect on critical care resources and healthcare providers: a global survey. Chest, 159(2), 619-633. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chest.2020.09.070
The article examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on worldwide critical care resources and healthcare providers. The authors polled healthcare professionals in several nations to determine the effect of the infection. They discovered that the pandemic significantly impacted healthcare providers and resources, with many of them feeling overwhelmed and unprepared. The authors concluded that the pandemic greatly affected healthcare providers and resources and that additional support is required to effectively ensure they have the resources needed to care for patients during the pandemic.
Bartsch, S. M., Ferguson, M. C., McKinnell, J. A., O’shea, K. J., Wedlock, P. T., Siegmund, S. S., & Lee, B. Y. (2020). The Potential Health Care Costs And Resource Use Associated With COVID-19 In The United States: A simulation estimate of the direct medical costs and healthcare resource use associated with COVID-19 infections in the United States. Health Affairs, 39(6), 927-935. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00426
The study focuses on a study that estimates the potential healthcare costs and resource consumption associated with the COVID-19 virus in the United States. The research employed a simulation model to estimate the direct medical costs and utilization of healthcare resources associated with COVID-19 infections in the United States. The authors concluded that the direct medical costs of COVID-19 in 2020 could range between $167 billion and $218 billion, depending on the severity of the outbreak and resource utilization. In addition, the authors estimated that the associated resource consumption could range between 4.5 million and 8.2 million hospital beds, 2.6 million and 4.2 million intensive care unit beds, and 876,000 and 1.5 million ventilators. This study provides important information regarding the potential economic and resource burden of a COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. By providing an estimate of the potential costs associated with a COVID-19 outbreak in the country, this information could help inform policy decisions and resource allocation strategies.
Lessons Learnt
Creating the annotated bibliography taught me how to search for credible sources and assess their relevance and credibility. I also learned how to concisely summarize a reference’s critical points and present them professionally. In addition, I understand the purpose of an annotated bibliography and the significance of correctly citing sources. This encounter has enhanced my overall comprehension of the research procedure. Healthcare, Resources, Covid-19, and Pandemic were utilized as keywords. The selection criteria include looking for journal articles on the topic of interest and selecting them with care. ScienceDirect, the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, and the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health were utilized as databases. The specific journals used were obtained from reputable sources. All utilized resources were academic and retrieved, especially from peer-reviewed journals. All utilized resources were current and applicable, spanning the years 2020 and 2021, and addressed the subject.