Contingency plans for health surveillance in the COVID-19 pandemic: analysis of compliance in a network of public teaching hospitals

ABSTRACT

Introduction: In December 2019, China was plagued by coronavirus disease (COVID-19), a disease caused by the new coronavirus, SARV-CoV-2. Due to the high contagion power, the World Health Organization declared a Public Health Emergency of International Importance on January 30, 2020. In March of the same year, more than 100 countries had registered cases of the new disease;thus, due to geographical spread, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 pandemic. Objective: To evaluate the adherence of public teaching hospitals to a Contingency Plan Model for Human Infection by the New Coronavirus published by the central management of a public company. Method: Descriptive-analytical study, using the model developed and published as a guiding document for adapting the contingency plan of each of the hospitals in the study Results: After two evaluations of the plans, 36 (94.7%) hospitals showed compliance greater than 70.0%, with four (10.5%) of them showing 100% compliance with the model. Hospitals' average adherence to the model increased from 82.3% in the first evaluation, to 91.3% in the second evaluation, a percentage increase equal to 11.0%. All hospitals in the study maintained or increased their adherence percentages. Conclusions: The research demonstrated the potential of the model to guide institutions in preparing their plans. Considering the positive results of this experience and the historical scarcity of hospital beds, especially those with ventilatory support, it is recommended that Brazilian health authorities can invest time and resources in the preparation of guiding documents that assist managers in reorganizing hospitals and response in crisis situations.