COVID-19 AND PRIMARY HEALTH CARE:

REFLECTIONS ON CHANGES IN HEALTH WORK PROCESSES AND CONTINUITY OF CARE IN BRAZIL AND PERU

Authors

  • ANTONIO CARLOS DE SOUZA NETO UNIFESP - UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DE SÃO PAULO
  • LEONARDO CARNUT Universidade de São Paulo - USP
  • CELSO ZILBOVICIUS Universidade de São Paulo

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.28998/rpss.v13iunico.20744

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic required significant changes in Primary Health Care (PHC) workflows, including the reorganization of services, the use of telemedicine, and the prioritization of respiratory cases. This study aimed to describe changes in PHC work processes in Brazil and Peru and their implications for continuity of care, without a comparative approach. A literature review was conducted using indexed databases, and selected references related to the topic were analyzed. The findings highlight transformations in PHC work processes and challenges to continuity of care in both countries. In Brazil, PHC faced the pandemic under conditions marked by limited federal coordination, scientific denialism, and regional inequalities. In Peru, the pandemic led to the collapse of the national health system, exposing fragmentation and structural weaknesses, with reductions and interruptions in essential health services, as well as economic and social barriers that affected the implementation of telemedicine. The analysis underscores the need for continuous training and updating of health teams based on lessons learned from the pandemic, along with immediate improvements and investments in PHC in both countries. Strengthening PHC is essential to expand access for the most vulnerable populations and to enhance the organization, effectiveness, and resilience of health systems.

KEYWORDS: COVID-19; Primary Health Care; Brazil; Peru; Continuity of Patient Care.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Downloads

Published

2026-09-09

How to Cite

SOUZA NETO, A. C. D., CARNUT, L., & ZILBOVICIUS, C. (2026). COVID-19 AND PRIMARY HEALTH CARE:: REFLECTIONS ON CHANGES IN HEALTH WORK PROCESSES AND CONTINUITY OF CARE IN BRAZIL AND PERU. Revista Portal: Saúde E Sociedade, 13(unico). https://doi.org/10.28998/rpss.v13iunico.20744

Issue

Vol. 13 No. unico (2026): Revista Portal Saúde e Sociedade

Section

ARTIGO DE REVISÃO

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Esta revista adota a licença CREATIVE COMMONS CC-BY 4.0.

Autores mantém os direitos autorais dos textos publicados e concedem à  revista o direito de realizar a primeira publicação do masnucrito. O trabalho é  licenciado sob a Creative Commons Attribution License. Isto significa que o compartilhamento do trabalho é permitido, com o devido reconhecimento da autoria do trabalho e publicação inicial nesta revista.

As contribuições dos autors devem seguir as recomendações internacionais - International Committe of Medical Journal Editors:  http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authors-and-contributors.html

O autor deve declarar que o artigo é original  e que não foi publicado ou submetido em outro periódico, não infringindo qualquer direito autoral ou outro direito de propriedade.

Uma vez submetido ao artigo, a RPSS reserva-se o direito de fazer alterações normativas, ajuste ortográficos e gramaticais, a fim de manter o padrão linguístico, mas respeitando o estilo do autor.

Os artigos publicados tornam-se propriedade do RPSS. Mesmo assim, todas as opiniões expressas são de responsabilidade dos autores.

Esta é uma revista de acesso aberto, é permitido o uso gratuito de artigos em aplicações educacionais e científicas, desde que a fonte seja citada sob a licença Creative Commons CC-BY.