The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Financial Condition and Mortality in Polish Regions

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Dear Author,
Your paper touches on a very important topic regarding the relationship between economics and health (the determinant of health). I congratulate you. But your work needs a little more academic clarity. I have included my suggestions below for you to look over.

Abstract The content of the study, especially the methodology, needed to be sufficiently clear. The study methodology can be explained more by removing the first two sentences at the beginning.

Introduction: Good enough 

Material and methods: 

It is important to clarify this issue in the continuation of the sentence, "This period is determined by the availability of financial data and the assumed stage of the study" in line 269. How much could LAU data be accessed? What was done for those who did not have data?

It should be explained that the LTB factor and STB factor are written for the first time in line 289.

It should be explained what the j-th and the i-th in lines 295 and 296 mean.

Results:  Good enough 

Discussion: The section in which the discussion is compared with other studies needs to be included. Ecological studies examine COVID-19 cases/deaths and urban parameters (Example: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.986273). This section should be expanded by comparing other studies.

Please add strengths and limitations part to discussion. 

 

 

Author Response

Dear Reviewer 1,

thank you very much for taking the time to analyze our paper and your practical suggestions. Based on this, we have made changes to the paper that translate into clarity.

Thank you,

Authors

Reviewer 2 Report

This paper is very interesting in the field and relevant given the current pandemic situation. The methods used are relevant in the field and results are convincing. 

However, I think the paper deserves some deepening and the reflection should be carried out through the zoom out of the paper. My main concern is related to the discussion of the results and I think the paper deserves more emphasise on "who could benefit from such inputs?". therefore, I think the authors should develop more the implications for the stakeholders of these results.
Good luck! 

Author Response

Dear Reviewer 2,

thank you very much for the time you spent analyzing our paper and your practical tips.

In accordance with your suggestions, we have reformulated and enriched the discussion and conclusions, which adds value to our paper.

Thank you,

Authors

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments to the Authors

Thank you for the work on this study and the opportunity to review your manuscript. Overall, this manuscript is timely and worthy. However, I have several significant concerns that I have outlined in my notes below, and I hope they are helpful.

1.   Abstract. The abstract is vague and not precise. It needs improvement. The first two sentences about the background are still weak and do not align with the title. The study's purpose is unclear, assessing the relationship for what specific or general purpose. Also, the abstract does not mention, and I wonder what research methods and data you use in this study. The result is also not clear. The author presents the relationship, but I wonder why. I suggest using the statistical results to support it. Therefore, the abstract needs to thoroughly revise.

1.   Introduction. It is still vague to me. The introduction could not let readers quickly catch how Covid-19 causes financial and mortality issues in Polish and why this study is important in the Polish region. It is not clear to me. Also, the purpose of this study is on page 2 of 17 from lines 86 to 89, which is different from the abstract. Also, there are no research questions. I suggest revising it thoroughly.

2.   Theoretical Considerations and Scale and Effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic. The two parts still need improvement. It is challenging for readers to absorb the knowledge. I suggest the author move theoretical considerations as a conceptual framework to the method part or briefly introduce them in the introduction part. Also, the author can use Literature Review to make the Covid-19 pandemic impact. But, the current one is no literature review. Also, the #3 Scale and effects of the Covid-19 pandemic confuse readers. So, I suggest the author use a table to show it, which may be better.

3.   Materials and methods. It needs improvement. For example, what is the total sample, and how does the author collect and analyze data? Also, how can the authors present the validity, reliability, and so forth? Also, what is your research design, data collection methods, and data analysis framework?

4.   Research results. It needs improvement. Since this study has no research questions, it makes readers have difficulty following in a way. Also, some information here, such as from Lines 357 to 365, may belong to the literature review part. This study explores how the Covid-19 pandemic causes the Polish financial burden and mortality rate. However, the results did not present how, why, and what. For example, the authors use One-Way ANOVA and talk about correlation, but the author presents the results illogically. For example, a comparative table shows the difference between pre-Covid, during-Covid, and post-Covid. Therefore, I suggest revising it thoroughly.

1.   Discussion and conclusions. It needs improvement and revises it. For example, on page 12 of 17, from lines 482 to 485, the authors talk about variables and positive correlation, but what they are and how they can show the correlation aligned with the Results parts and method parts.

2.   References. Since the topic is related to Covid-19, I suggest adding more 2022 and 2023 references.

As my concerns show above, I suggest the manuscripts need to be revised thoroughly. Thank you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author Response

Dear Reviewer 3,

thank you very much for taking the time to analyze our paper and for your insightful and practical suggestions.

In accordance with your suggestions, we have reformulated the abstract, unified the purpose of the study, and made the text more coherent. We completed and modified the theoretical points to guide the reader through the issues one at a time.

We have completed our results and added the researcher's limitations, opportunities to develop the study, and implications.

We express the belief that your comments have made our work more valuable. We hope that the corrections we have made will be accepted by you and you will favor the other positive reviews we have received.

With best regards,

Authors

Round 2

Reviewer 3 Report

To editor, 

Thank you for the opportunity for me to re-review this manuscript with "The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Financial Condition and Mortality in Polish Regions. After carefully reviewing the second revision, the authors addressed my previous suggestions clearly and comprehensively. Therefore, I suggest that this manuscript could be accepted. Thank you.