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This study analyzes the association of incidence and mortality rates by COVID-19 in the municipalities of the state of Sergipe, Brazil with indicators of social vulnerability and human development used in the country, as well as with the rate of RT-PCR exams for the diagnosis of the disease performed by each municipality. This is an ecological study of COVID-19 cases and deaths accumulated from March 2020 to March 2021, which occurred in the State of Sergipe by municipality; and its correlation with the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI), Municipal Human Development Index (MHDI), and number of RT-PCR tests performed to diagnose the disease, using Spearman's correlation (ρ). Contrary to our hypotheses and the scientific literature, municipalities with higher rates of social vulnerability and lower human development had fewer cases of the disease and deaths per inhabitant, while testing less for the diagnosis of COVID-19. The study points to inequity as a factor to be overcome in the face of the pandemic, as it impairs a proper diagnosis of the scenario closer to reality, compromising the planning and implementation of collective health measures.

The article presents an analysis of the spatial distribution of mortality from COVID-19 and its association with socioeconomic indicators in the north-eastern region of Brazil - an area particularly vulnerable with regard to these indicators. This populationbased ecology study was carried out at the municipal level in the years 2020 and 2021, with analyses performed by spatial autocorrelation, multiple linear regression and spatial autoregressive models. The results showed that mortality from COVID-19 in this part of Brazil was higher in the most populous cities with better socioeconomic indicators. Factors such as the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in large cities, the agglomerations existing within them, the pressure to maintain economic activities and mistakes in the management of the pandemic by the Brazilian federal Government were part of the complex scenario related to the spread of COVID-19 in the country and this study was undertaken in an attempt to understand this situation. Analysing the different scenarios is essential to face the challenges posed by the pandemic to the world’s health systems.

Introduction: Telemedicine refers to providing medical services through information technology and communication between patients and service providers. Plastic surgery is a field especially favorable to the application of telemedicine since visual inspection of the patient guides both diagnosis and clinical follow-up. Methods: An integrative review was performed in the articles published in telemedicine in plastic surgery in the PubMed database, using the terms MeSH: "telemedicine" AND "plastic surgery." After tracking and applying eligibility criteria, the remaining articles' full text were digitized, with their data extracted for detailed analysis. Results: A total of 134 articles were identified, all in English, in the initial search for PubMed. After screening and application of the exclusion criteria, 12 studies were included for the integrative review. The articles found in this review demonstrated benefits in the use of telemedicine applied to plastic surgery. Especially in the postoperative follow-up of patients, in the reduction or extinction of the need for face-to-face visits, in the satisfaction of patients in the consultations carried out by telemedicine, in the reduction of financial costs and response time for referrals, in the diagnostic accuracy similar to the face-to-face assessment and in improving access to specialized care in remote places, both geographically and socially unfavorable. Four articles discussed barriers and limitations, observed or potential, to the use of telemedicine in plastic surgery, such as data security, legislation, costs and perception of negative influence on doctor-patient communication. Conclusion: The analyzed studies show an expressive gain in knowledge about telemedicine applied to plastic surgery in recent years.

Objective: To analyze the trend of hospitalization rates for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions (HACSC) in Sergipe and its seven health regions between 2010 and 2019, correlating with financial investments in health and primary care, strategy coverage of family health, and the number of hospital beds. Methods: This is an ecological time-series study trend with secondary data from the Ministry of Health. The trend verification was done by segmented linear analysis and the correlation between the variables by Spearman's correlation. Results: HACSC in the state of Sergipe showed a trend towards stability. In the Nossa Senhora do Socorro region, an increasing rate trend was identified from 2010 to 2017 and a non-significant decreasing trend from 2017 to 2019, with a negative correlation with per capita investment in PHC. The Itabaiana region showed a trend of reduction in rates from 2010 to 2012, followed by a trend of growth in rates from 2012 to 2020, with no significant correlation with any of the variables. Conclusions: Monitoring HACSC rates and understanding their multifactorial influence are essential since this indicator is helpful in local situational diagnosis and contributes to planning actions.