Primary Health Care Qualification for laboratory diagnosis of COVID-19 in the Federal District, 2020-2021

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic required the reorganization of PHC Units (UBS) to ensure greater laboratory diagnostic capacity timely, which demanded trained health professionals, availability of inputs/materials, and adequate sample management strategies at the Central Laboratory (LACEN). In 2020-2021, an analytical cross-sectional census study evaluated the UBS structure in the Federal District (DF). Data were collected remotely through structured telephone interviews and a self-completed questionnaire. Statistical analysis was carried out in Software R, comparing UBS-Sentinel with UBS-Traditional units. Nurse training in rapid testing or swab sample collection was almost universal (> 99%) and high among nursing technicians (70%). On the other hand, only 9% of doctors received any training. A defined flow was registered to forward samples to LACEN in 89% of UBS to diagnose SARS-CoV-2. The deadlines for returning laboratory results were met in 70% of cases. Inputs, materials, and equipment were available in sufficient amounts, especially at UBS-Sentinel units. In these UBS, 63% of the teams knew the MA-LACEN-0007 collection manual, compared to 35% at UBS-Traditional units (p < 0.001). Despite the challenges, the DF showed a satisfactory response capacity regarding the COVID-19 laboratory diagnosis.