São Paulo State Primary Health Care in coping with COVID-19: A population size analysis

Abstract

Abstract This article aims to understand how the cities of São Paulo state organized the coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the role of Primary Health Care (PHC) as an analyzing element of the healthcare model. This descriptive quantitative study was grounded on a survey with a probabilistic sample of 253 municipalities in the state of São Paulo in which municipal managers were interviewed through a questionnaire. Absolute (n) and relative (%) frequencies were described after weighting according to the three population strata. The results indicate that the population size is an essential analytical component. During the pandemic, the organization prioritized flow readjustment and clinical care in most municipalities. Prenatal care and childcare continuing actions consisted of biomedical actions with appointments. Regarding the promotion of expanded healthcare responses, the smaller municipalities, which are structured based on the PHC, performed better. On the other hand, large cities fragmented healthcare and vaccination. The intersectoral actions of community care and from a territorial perspective were still retracted, and PHC still struggles.