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Murillo R., Rodríguez A., Mosquera O.,Prada Y. (2020) COVID-19: Public Health crisis or Geronto-Sanitary crisis?, Journal of Aging & Innovation, 9 ARTIGO DE OPINIÃO: Murillo R., Rodríguez O.,Prada Y. (2020) COVID-19: Public Health (2):A30osquera 30- 32 crisis or Geronto-Sanitary crisis?, Journal of Aging & Innovation, 9 (2): 30- 32

 Artigo de opinião

COVID-19: crise de Saúde Pública ou crise Geronto-sanitária?

COVID-19: crisis de Salud Pública o crisis Gerontosanitaria?

COVID-19: Public Health crisis or Geronto-Sanitary crisis?

Roberth Steven Gutiérrez Murillo1; Andrea Del Pilar Trujillo Rodríguez2; Olga Lucía Conde Mosquera3; Yury Lizeth Cardozo Prada4 1

European University of the Atlantic – UNEATLANTICO. Department of Geriatrics and Gerontology. Santander, Spain;

Federal University for Latin-American Integration – UNILA. Latin-American Institute of Life and Nature Sciences. Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil.

2 University of São Paulo – USP. Department of Public Health. São Paulo, Brazil.

Federal University for Latin-American Integration – UNILA. Latin-American Institute of Life and Nature Sciences. Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil.

4 State University of Western Paraná – UNIOESTE. Department of Public Health. Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil.

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Corresponding Author: stevengumu@gmail.com

By the moment we address this brief communication, the coefficient of morbi-mortality, due to the new pathological manifestation of the coronavirus, is constantly increasing.

On a daily basis, we wake up to frightening figures that inform us about the aggressiveness of this new virus and, unfortunately, bring us closer to the idea that this is not a disease we can easily counter. On the contrary, we approach the idea of living with yet another virus characterized by high transmission; morbidity and mortality coefficients. These facts, however, have been promptly and properly highlighted by the World Health Organization – WHO.1,2 The new manifestation of the coronavirus has been named by the WHO, as COVID19. Regarding the acronym, “CO” refers to crown; "VI" virus and "D" disease.

Furthermore, “its transmission has been identified through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes”. 2 The current Brazilian scenario indicates that the hygienist activities developed by the Ministry of Health, in partnership with public agencies, are specifically focused on disease mitigation. Mitigation, in turn, is the prevention and control phase that aims to “reduce the levels of disease transmission for groups at greater risk of presenting more JOURNAL OF AGING AND INNOVATION, AGOSTO, 2020, 9 (2)  ISSN: 2182-696X  http://journalofagingandinnovation.org/ DOI: 10.36957/jai.2182-696X.v9i2-3

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ARTIGO DE OPINIÃO: Murillo R., Rodríguez A30osquera O.,Prada Y. (2020) COVID-19: Public Health crisis or Geronto-Sanitary crisis?, Journal of Aging & Innovation, 9 (2): 30- 32

severe clinical conditions; in addition to promoting the isolation of positive cases and those in suspicion”.3 Brazil is considered to be one of the oldest Latin American countries, that is, with a higher proportion of the aging population. With such aging projection, there is an increase in chronic non-communicable diseases, especially those related to people's habits and lifestyles. Parallel to this, there is also an increase in the index of elderly drug dependents; even more aggravating, the chance of developing polypharmacy.

Recent publications on the European and Asian continental axis alert us to the deadly affinity that COVID-19 has with the elderly, which is the group most affected. Such findings also inform us of the correlation between mortality and the presence of comorbidities, especially respiratory and cardiovascular ones. 4 It is important to bear in mind that the premise that permeates geronto-sanitary practice is the analysis of health conditions and needs focused on the occurrence of population phenomena or samples of aged individuals, aiming at observing specific facts and their corresponding variations in a given geospatial context, to later propose interventions of partial or final resolution.

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Notwithstanding, current geronto-sanitary interventions

have not been able to propose nor partial or final resolutions to COVID-19. In response to that, all actions have been set to prevent/control the transmission rate and to offer clinical care to infected elderly, aiming at controlling the symptomatic stages.

Much more than being declared a public health crisis, COVID-19 has proved itself to be a geronto-sanitary crisis. It can now be considered a multidimensional and dynamic disease that affects all public intervention areas, such as: health; education; social security; economics and politics.

Our geronto-sanitary view points out to two main instigations. At first, we realized that the epidemic crisis of COVID-19 has mirrored some of the great challenges of primary health care, within the scope of the Unified Health System, such as: incipient training/preparation of health professionals to deal with socio-sanitary needs manifested by the elderly; the disorganization and non-articulation of local social and health care networks and the social stigmas admitted about human aging, which act as barriers to the promotion of universal, comprehensive and equitable gerontosanitary practices.

JOURNAL OF AGING AND INNOVATION, AGOSTO, 2020, 9 (2)  ISSN: 2182-696X  http://journalofagingandinnovation.org/ DOI: 10.36957/jai.2182-696X.v9i2-3

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ARTIGO DE OPINIÃO: Murillo R., Rodríguez A30osquera O.,Prada Y. (2020) COVID-19: Public Health crisis or Geronto-Sanitary crisis?, Journal of Aging & Innovation, 9 (2): 30- 32

As our second regard, the public health and social assistance system is unprepared to reconcile joint interventions in the context of an epidemic and a public health crisis.

Such a challenge is noticeable from the federal level, a fact that instigates us even more. The questionable acting of the federal government in the face of the health crisis of COVID-19 moves us to rethink our professional and citizen practices. In that sense, we consider that the principle of intergenerational solidarity and beneficence must be appropriated by society, in the same way. We understand that the most feasible way to act as gerontologists and hygienists, it is not obvious that the elderly are, according to scientific evidence, the group most affected in the middle of the health crisis. We reckon that institutionalized elderly are even more susceptible to worsen conditions related to COVID-19’s symptoms.

Finally, we emphasize that, despite the multiple challenges found in our professional practice and in the various care scenarios in which health professionals are inserted, our vocation and professional satisfaction must prevail. Today more than ever, society is in need of our knowledge and skills. Teamwork, the valorization of collective effort and the hope placed in better times guide our professional daily life in times of epidemic crisis.

References 1. Lourenço RA. COVID-19, isolamento social e políticas públicas. Geriatr Gerontol Aging.2020;14(1):1. http://dx.doi.org/10.5327/Z2447-212320202141EDT1 2. World Health Organization. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Disponível em: https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus#tab=tab_1 3. Werneck GL, Carvalho MS. A pandemia de COVID-19 no Brasil: crônica de uma crise sanitária anunciada. Cad. Saúde Pública, Rio de Janeiro, v. 36, n. 5, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0102-311X00068820 4. Livingston E, Bucher K. Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Italy. JAMA. 2020;323(14):1335. http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.4344 5. Gutiérrez-Murillo RS. Intervenção geronto-sanitária em município brasileiro de tríplicefronteira:

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institucionalizados em ILPI. Rev. Longeviver, São Paulo, v. 2, n. 6, 2020.

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