Work and subjectivity: reflections on experiences dealing with COVID-19 in the Brazilian Unified Health System

Abstract

This article presents a critical analysis of the relationship between work and subjectivity, based on reflections regarding experiences of dealing with the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) epidemic in the Unified Health System (SUS) in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In order to do so, context is first provided regarding Brazilian policy and the SUS, drawing attention to different modes of health policy formulation. The ways in which the challenges of the pandemic were dealt with in the SUS are then presented, through an examination of material from panel discussions held with healthcare workers – which are publicly available on Youtube – regarding what they have lived through during the pandemic and the political conflicts they have encountered, as well as their lived experiences with the primary level of care, with mental health, and with social movements. This material is analyzed vis-à-vis conceptual elements that seek to expand upon notions of healthcare work, policies and practices in health care, and subjectification processes, shedding light on lessons that have emerged and on future challenges.

Keywords

• unified health system
• health policy
• 2019-ncov pandemic
• work
• brazil