Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on health surveillance work

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged managers and exposed weaknesses in health systems. In Brazil, the pandemic emerged amid difficulties to work in the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) and in health surveillance (HS). The purpose of this article is to analyze the effects of COVID-19 on the organization, working conditions, management, and performance of HS, according to the perception of capital city managers from three regions of Brazil. This is an exploratory, descriptive research with qualitative analysis. The Iramuteq software was used in the treatment of the textual corpus and analysis of descending hierarchical classification, which generated four classes: characteristics of HS work during the pandemic (39.9%), HS organization and working conditions during the pandemic (12.3%), effects of the pandemic on work (34.4%), and the class of the health protection of workers and the population (13.4%). HS implemented remote work, expanded work shifts, and diversified its actions. However, it faced difficulties with personnel, infrastructure, and insufficient training. The present study also pointed out the potential for joint actions concerning HS.

摘要 新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）大流行给管理者带来了严峻挑战，同时暴露了卫生系统存在的短板。在巴西，本次大流行暴发之际，巴西统一卫生系统（SUS）及健康监测（HS）体系的运行已面临诸多困难。本文旨在基于巴西三大区域首府管理者的认知视角，分析COVID-19对健康监测（HS）体系的组织架构、工作条件、管理模式及运营绩效所产生的影响。本研究属于采用质性分析的探索性描述性研究。研究采用Iramuteq软件对文本语料库进行处理，并开展降序层级分类分析，最终划分出四类主题：大流行期间健康监测（HS）工作的特征（39.9%）、大流行期间健康监测（HS）的组织架构与工作条件（12.3%）、大流行对工作产生的影响（34.4%），以及劳动者与民众的健康防护类主题（13.4%）。健康监测（HS）体系推行了远程办公模式，扩充了工作班次，并丰富了各项工作举措。但该体系同时面临人员短缺、基础设施不足以及培训匮乏等多重困境。本研究同时指出了健康监测（HS）体系开展协同行动的潜在可能。