CONSEQUENCES OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON THE WORK PROCESSES AND HEALTH CONDITIONS OF MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONALS OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH OF RIO GRANDE DO NORTE
Occupational Health. Work Process. Unified Health System. Regionalization. Covid-19.
Working conditions in the health sector are a public health issue that has been going on for a long time and occurs within the various spheres of the SUS. However, in the period from 2020 to 2022, this scenario of precariousness was exacerbated in the face of a new determinant, the COVID-19 pandemic, becoming another factor contributing to the weakening of workers' health. In view of the above, the following question arose: What were the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic on the health and working conditions of workers who work in the management of the State Department of Public Health of Rio Grande do Norte in the first year of the pandemic? The objective of the study is to analyze the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on the working conditions and health of workers who work in the management of the State Department of Public Health of Rio Grande do Norte and its regional network, in the first year of the pandemic. It was decided to develop two methodological designs aligned with the objectives presented, the first design was a documentary analysis with a retrospective qualitative approach and the second design was the Case Study, an empirical investigation that thoroughly analyzes a contemporary phenomenon within its real context. It is expected that the study will contribute to: a) the construction of knowledge about the consequences of the pandemic on the health and working conditions of the SESAP/RN management team; b) development of other studies on occupational health; c) expansion of the analysis of work processes to other professional categories, and d) encouragement of new research focused on the health of management workers, in view of the limited production of studies available in the academic literature on this particular group of health professionals.