Work in health during the pandemic: Experiences of linking with the community related to the social production of care in Mar del Plata, Argentina

Abstract

In this article we propose to make visible the strategies of community engagement of public health workers related to the production of care in the critical context of the covid-19 pandemic, marked by the deepening of poverty, the restriction of health services and the tensions of the health system in Argentina. With a qualitative methodological design and ethnographic approach, we interviewed workers from different disciplines, occupations and genders, who work in health centers and public hospitals in Mar del Plata and surrounding rural areas, between the months of March and December 2021. Based on their narratives, we analyze the dimensions of access to food, medication and holistic therapies, the difficulties encountered and their contribution to the social production of health care. We conclude that the strategies generated carry the instituting potential for the reorientation of public health services in accordance with the challenges of the right to health from the perspective of gender and rights in the transition to the post-pandemic.

Keywords:
Pandemics; Public health; Social participation; Gender perspective