A framework to evaluate the temporary hospital locations in wake of COVID-19 pandemic: implications to healthcare operations

The pandemic caused by coronavirus disease (COVID-19) endangered individuals and led to global disruptions. The pandemic strained the already overburdened Indian healthcare systems, resulting in a severe resource deficit. In response to the crisis, administrations nationwide started exploring locations to open temporary hospitals dedicated exclusively to COVID-19 patients. While previous literature has addressed the problem of hospital locations, the temporary hospital location problem (THLP) has yet to be addressed. Further, THLP is more complex in developing and populated countries such as India due to the magnified infection risk burden and limited resources. The selection of inappropriate locations has several disadvantages, including resource waste and critical delay, often resulting in the loss of human lives. Therefore, THLP becomes a significant decision-making problem that requires critical consideration of various factors to select temporary hospital locations. The present study proposes a framework and explores the factors affecting temporary hospital locations. This study employs the Best–Worst Method (BWM) to evaluate and rank the identified factors for choosing temporary hospital locations. The study's findings indicate that operational, social, and economic factors are the most influential. The most influential sub-factors are population density, staff availability, and support establishments. Finally, a case study is conducted to highlight the applications of the proposed framework.