TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2019//
TI  - Geospatial mapping as a guide for resource allocation among burn centers in India
JO  - Journal of burn care and research
A1  - Ranganathan, Kavitha
A1  - Mouch, Charles A.
A1  - Chung, Michael
A1  - Mathews, Ian B.
A1  - Cederna, Paul S.
A1  - Sabapathy, Raja R.
A1  - Raghavendran, Krishnan
A1  - Singhal, Maneesh
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - BACKGROUND: Timely treatment is essential for optimal outcomes after burn injury, but the method of resource distribution to ensure access to proper care in developing countries remains unclear. We therefore sought to examine access to burn care and the presence/absence of resources for burn care in India. <br><br>METHODS: We surveyed all eligible burn centers (n=67) in India to evaluate burn care resources at each facility. We then performed a cross-sectional geospatial analysis using geocoding software (ArcGIS 10.3) and publicly available hospital-level data (WorldStreetMap, WorldPop database) to predict the time required to access care at the nearest burn center. Our primary outcome was time required to reach a burn facility within India. Descriptive statistics were used to present our results. <br><br>RESULTS: Of the 67 burn centers that completed the survey, 45% were government funded. Over one billion (75.1%) Indian citizens live within two hours of a burn center, but only 221.9 million (15.9%) live within two hours of a burn center with both an intensive care unit (ICU) and a skin bank. Burn units are staffed primarily by plastic surgeons (n=62, 93%) with an average of 5.8 physicians per unit. Most burn units (n=53, 79%) have access to hemodialysis. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: While many Indian citizens live within two hours of a burn center, most centers do not offer ICU and skin bank services that are essential for modern burn care. Reallocation of resources to improve transportation and availability of ICU and skin bank resources is necessary to improve burn care in India.<br><br>© American Burn Association 2019. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1559-047X
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jbcr/irz210
ID  - ref1
ER  -