Assessment of health management performance in the oil spill disaster crime on the coast of the state of Pernambuco

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to analyze the actions taken by health management to deal with the criminal disaster of an oil spill off the coast of Pernambuco in 2019. It is a case study investigating the health sector’s actions in four municipalities in Pernambuco. Data was collected through interviews with 16 health department managers (municipal and state), using a semi-structured script with questions about performance, impacts, actions taken, difficulties, challenges, and lessons learned. The Collective Subject Discourse analysis revealed four thematic axes: a) managers’ perception of the impacts of the crime disaster; b) actions taken in the process of risk management of the disaster crime by the health sector; c) difficulties faced in the process of mitigating the disaster; d) evaluation of management actions during the disaster crime and future preparation. Weaknesses in health management were identified in disaster mitigation actions due to the need for more preparation of health services and professionals. The lack of instruments and coordination between the federated entities intensified the difficulties, generating calamity in the territory. This points to the need to build instruments and protocols to guide such actions in these situations so that activities can be carried out more efficiently and effectively.

KEYWORDS
Oil spill; Disaster; Disaster response; Health sector; Risk management