Health surveillance in times of pandemic: analysis of contingency plans of Northeastern states

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic revealed a number of challenges for health systems, requiring rapid decision making and integrated actions for its contingency. Health Surveillance is one of the key elements in developing responses to the pandemic. Objective: To analyze how the Health Surveillance has been thought by the state management structures in the Northeast of Brazil, considering the proposal of contingency measures for the confrontation to COVID-19. Method: It is a descriptive study, documental-based, analytical-reflexive, which took as an object the official publications of state health secretariats of the northeastern states, produced from the elaboration of government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis process, anchored in theoretical-methodological assumptions of content analysis, considered the following components: (1) formal organization and structure; (2) defined objectives, general and specific and; (3) defined proposals for Health Surveillance. Results: The analysis led to the constitution of two categories: 1) political-managerial aspects of Health Surveillance; 2) organizational articulations of Health Surveillance. The first category discusses the relationship between state and municipal Health Surveillance, based on the capacity of institutionalization of government management. The second category focuses on the interface of the Health Surveillance with other health sectors and, in intersectoriality. Conclusions: In the northeastern context, challenges are posed to the organization of Health Surveillance responses in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic response, highlighting the intergovernmental articulation capacity of states and municipalities and the Health Surveillance interface with other health and social sectors.