Communication strategies adopted by the management of the Brazilian National Health System during the Covid-19 pandemic

The main communication strategies developed by the three levels of the Brazilian National Health System (SUS) for the management for coping with Covid-19 in Brazil were characterized and analyzed. The research encompassed Websites, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, press conferences, apps and epidemiological bulletins, totaling 35 strategies. Although communication is one of the key axes in response to the pandemic, a significant part of the strategies did not adequately address the topics of surveillance, care, promotion and health education. It was observed a predominance of the utilitarian, centralizing and functional communication model, focusing on the transmission of information. The State has a duty to promote community and emancipatory communication, considering the diversity of subjects, the local context and the development of communicative networks, respecting the human and social right to communication, information and voice, according to the principles and guidelines of the SUS.