Efficiency of COVID-19 Testing Centers in Iran: A Data Envelopment Analysis Approach

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate the efficiency of the Iranian Red Crescent Society in managing their non-monetary resources involved in COVID-19 response. Methods: For this purpose, the data envelopment analysis approach was used to measure the efficiency, considering the number of personnel and vehicles and screened passengers as the input and output parameters, respectively. It was examined the efficiency of 10 IRCS's branches given 17 days of screening operation. For the analysis,the DEA SolverPro software 15a version was used. Results: The results show that only one branch had been full efficient in using the resources while five branches showed less than 50% efficiency. This study reveals that it is unnecessary to use a fixed number of volunteers at different stations with different passenger numbers. Conclusions: Using resources without efficient planning can lead to direct costs such as food, transportation, and maintenance, as well as indirect costs such as burnout, fatigue, and stress when responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. This analysis should support IRCS’s managers to move their valuable resources from inefficient to efficient centers to increase the screening rate and reduce the fatigue of aid workers for the next pandemic rounds.