Primary Health Care in the COVID-19 pandemic: an analysis of response plans to the health crisis in Brazil

• Autor(a) principal: Fernandez, Michelle
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Outros Autores: Fernandes, Luisa da Matta Machado, Massuda, Adriano
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por; eng
• Título da fonte: Revista Brasileira de Medicina de Família e Comunidade (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://www.rbmfc.org.br/rbmfc/article/view/3336
• topic: Pandemics; Coronavirus Infections; COVID-19; Primary Health Care; Healthcare Models; Public health policy.; Pandemias; Infecções por Coronavírus; COVID-19; Atenção Primária à Saúde; Modelos de Assistência à Saúde; Políticas públicas de saúde.; Pandemias; Infecciones por coronavirus; COVID-19; Atención Primária a la Salud; Modelos de atención a la salud; Políticas públicas de salud.

Introduction: The pandemic caused by COVID-19 has unevenly affected the world. Countries with lack of national coordination and/or which resisted implementing non-pharmacological public health actions had their populations impacted by the high number of cases, deaths from COVID-19, and suffered significant socioeconomic impacts. In the case of Brazil, special attention should be given to the role played by Primary Health Care in the prevention and control of COVID-19, considering its function as coordinator and organizer of the Brazilian Unified Health System. Objective: We aim to discuss the actions of Primary Health Care during the first year of the health emergency in Brazil. Methods: To do so, plans proposed by several organizations were considered: World Health Organization, National Council of State Health Secretaries and National Council of Local Health Secretaries, Brazilian Association of Collective Health, and the Brazilian Society of Family and Community Medicine. The plans were compared with the set of documents related to Primary Health Care published by the Brazilian Ministry of Health. Results: The strategy to combat the pandemic in Brazil, from the perspective of the Brazilian Ministry of Health coordination, failed in underestimating the role of Primary Health Care. Despite the appeal and parameters established by national and international entities, the action was uncoordinated, and little of what was recommended in technical notes was implemented. Conclusions: Considering that the pandemic is still ongoing in Brazil, the centrality of Primary Health Care must be resumed.