EFFECTS OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON PSYCHOSOCIAL CARE CENTERS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Abstract

The pandemic was a challenge for the SUS, which reorganized itself to face the health crisis. The CAPS underwent changes in their functioning, such as meeting demands and needs that were not previously established. This systematic review aims to answer the question: what are the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on CAPS? Empirical articles in Portuguese from 2020 to September 2023 were selected from three databases. We found 10 empirical articles that met the established criteria. Qualitative research carried out through semi-structured interviews in CAPS that serve the adult public predominated in 2022. The results were categorized into: a) Attendances in the pandemic: changes in profile and quantity; b) Operation of devices and adaptations in the face of COVID-19; and c) Going through the pandemic in work processes. The reduction in the number of procedures due to sanitary measures and intensification of demands stand out. Little has been explored about the intersectionalities between gender, class, or race. It is argued that the CAPS, despite being psychosocial care devices, since their establishment have not been able to break with the outpatient logic, intensifying in the pandemic. The overload of professionals was even greater due to the centrality of demands and changes in work processes, especially technological adaptations.