Spatial distribution of traumatic brain injury cases seen at the trauma units of reference in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

https://doi.org/10.18294/sc.2014.223

Published 1 August 2014 Open Access


Kinesióloga. Doctora en Epidemiología. Profesora Adjunta, Departamento de Ciências da Vida, Universidade do Estado da Bahia, Brasil , Médica. Doctora en Epidemiología. Profesora Asociada, Instituto de Saúde Coletiva, Universidade Federal da Bahia. Investigador I-C, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Brasil , Médica. Doctora en Salud Pública. Profesora Adjunta, Departamento de Medicina Preventiva e Social, Faculdade de Medicina da Bahia, Brasi , Médico. Doctor en Epidemiología. Profesor Adjunto, Instituto de Medicina Social, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Investigador I-B, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Brasi , Arquitecta. Doctora en Geografía. Profesora, Programa de Pos-graduação em Planejamento Territorial e Desenvolvimento Social, Universidade Católica de Salvador, Brasil



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Keywords:

Georeferencing, Craniocerebral Traumas, Spatial Distributions, Health Services Accessibility, Brazil

Abstract


An exploratory study was performed with patients who suffered traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in the period from July 31, 2007 to August 1, 2008. The spatial distribution of the TBI cases seen at the trauma unit of reference in the Metropolitan Region of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil was analyzed. Both the residential addresses and places of occurrence were geocoded by means of GPS receiver devices. The spatial aggregation of cases was evaluated using the nearest neighbor hierarchical clustering technique in the CrimeStat® 3.2 program. TBI cases were not randomly distributed; rather, they formed clusters in relation to both place of residence and place of occurrence of the trauma. Many of the clusters were identified in areas far removed from the locations of emergency services as well as from the locations where multi-professional rehabilitation is offered. Thus, the spatial distribution of the health services, in relation to the places of occurrence of TBI, reveals inequalities.