The Covid-19 pandemic behind bars:: the challenges faced by Health Promoting Agents and the vulnerable population

Abstract

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Health Promoting Agents faced challenges in guaranteeing access to healthcare for people deprived of their liberty in prison units. Since what we see in practice in certain environments is a violation and exposure of these subjects to vulnerabilities, as the moral judgment on the behavior of people deprived of liberty defines how they live in society, discriminating and hindering their access to basic, equal rights and universal. The objective of this study is to present the pandemic in the prison system and the challenges faced by Health Promoting Agents in accessing health services for the population deprived of liberty. This is a qualitative research that carried out 24 interviews between January and April 2023 with working AgPS. The legal apparatus of the prison community reiterated the constitutional right to health and the implementation of health units within the system, but perceived negligence in meeting basic needs, placing the subject at the mercy of verticalized power. However, it is questioned how much the PPL provides access to protective measures and devices, as the right to health has not been implemented within the walls of certain prison units, contrasting the formality of the law's drafting and the distances in the effective practice. Faced with this scenario, health, security professionals, managers and others who work within the walls must be committed to continuously carrying out actions to promote, prevent and restore health and provide conditions and guarantee the right to health and its access.