OPTIMAL SITE SELECTION OF A PANDEMIC HOSPITAL USING MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION-MAKING APPROACH

The COVID-19 pandemic has spread rapidly and affected the whole world. During the process of combating the pandemic, it has become apparent that some physical infrastructures such as intensive care units have been insufficient to meet the current demand. The aim of this study is to select the optimal location for a pandemic hospital and determine the critical factors affecting the selection. The Analytical Hierarchy Process approach is implemented in the study with 27 criteria used to evaluate the alternatives. The data of the study are collected from 23 experts. The result of the analysis proposes the optimal location to establish a pandemic hospital. In addition, the three most important criteria that affect the location selection of the pandemic hospital are Risk, Accessibility, and Opportunities and threats, respectively. Moreover, the results of the sensitivity analysis show that the outputs of the proposed model are robust. A location selection problem for a pandemic hospital was addressed and the factors affecting the location selection are discussed in this study. The proposed model is expected to be a guide for health policymakers, healthcare managers, and public and private investment decision-makers as a decision support system.