Abstract
Objective:
to analyze how COVID-19 contingency plans adopted in Brazilian state capitals and in the Federal District approach the health protection of Primary Health Care (PHC) workers.
Methods:
this is a descriptive, documentary-based study, with an analytical-reflective character, conducted with data collected between June and July 2020 from official publications issued by the Municipal Health Departments of the Brazilian state capitals, and by the federal government, aiming at coping with the pandemic. We categorized data according to administrative, environmental, and individual control measures.
Result:
all capitals presented contingency plans, except for São Luís, located in Maranhão State, Northeast region of the country. All evaluated contingency plans described respiratory or individual protection measures, unlike that observed for environmental and administrative control measures.
Conclusion:
the contingency plans to cope with COVID-19 are limited concerning the PHC workers’ health prevention and protection. The actions heterogeneity reveals the complexity of the process of coping with the pandemic in Brazil, especially in face of the regional inequalities and weaknesses in the healthcare management.
Keywords:
COVID-19; pandemics; primary health care; occupational health