by PublicABCP
Translated and reviewed by Matheus Lucas Hebling
The study “Health Policies of Brazilian States During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Dataset of the Norms Produced,” authored by Michelle Fernandez (UnB), Frederico Bertholini (UnB), and Bárbara Maia (UFRN), systematized the normative output of all 27 Brazilian states in the area of health during the public health crisis. The resulting database comprises 4,837 state-level normative acts published between February 2020 and October 2021.
The objective of the research was to provide an overview of state government action in confronting the pandemic, addressing the lack of consolidated data on subnational health regulation.
Data collection was carried out manually through daily monitoring of the states’ Official Gazettes and government websites, followed by double-checking. Norms were selected on the basis of specific keywords and classified according to their relationship to health-related actions, with those focused exclusively on social isolation excluded.
The norms were organized into five broad categories — expenditure, infrastructure, epidemiological surveillance, health service processes, and human resources — and 19 subcategories, defined on the basis of international references on health emergencies. Norms exclusively concerned with social isolation were excluded from the analysis, since this type of measure is already extensively covered in other studies and databases; the focus of the study fell on actions directly related to health.
The analysis showed that the largest share of norms was concentrated in the “Expenditure” category, representing 37.77% of the total. This was followed by actions related to “Infrastructure” (19.21%) and “Epidemiological Surveillance” (17.79%). The least frequent categories were “Human Resources” (10.60%) and “Health Service Processes” (14.60%).
Among the subcategories, norms concerning the procurement of supplies and the expansion of hospital capacity stood out. The volume of norms also varied across states: Ceará, Pernambuco, and Rio Grande do Norte produced the highest numbers, while Santa Catarina, Goiás, and Roraima issued the lowest volumes.
Over time, normative output tracked the cycles of the pandemic, with peaks at critical moments, such as epidemiological week 27 of 2020. Comparison with Ministry of Health data on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) cases indicates a correlation between the worsening of the health crisis and the increase in state-level norm production. These patterns reveal how the states responded to different stages of the pandemic, contributing to analyses of institutional learning and adaptation in crisis contexts.
The database is publicly available and can be used in research on federalism, intergovernmental relations, state capacity, and the use of evidence in public policy formulation. The database can be accessed through the link provided in the original publication.
By systematizing state-level normative output, the study contributes to understanding the Brazilian response to the pandemic and offers tools for planning actions in future public health emergencies.
Author Profiles
Michelle Fernandez is a professor at the Instituto de Ciência Política at the Universidade de Brasília (IPOL-UnB — Institute of Political Science, University of Brasília). She holds an undergraduate degree in Political Science from the Universidade de Brasília (2006), a master’s degree in Law with a specialization in European Union Studies from the Universidad de A Coruña (2007), a Diploma of Advanced Studies in Political Science from the Universidad de Salamanca (2009), and a Ph.D. in Contemporary Political Processes from the Universidad de Salamanca (2012).
Bárbara Maia is a professor at the Instituto de Políticas Públicas at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (IPP/UFRN — Institute of Public Policy, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte). She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the Instituto de Ciência Política at the Universidade de Brasília (PPGCP/IPOL/UnB) and a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Studies from the Graduate Program in Urban and Regional Studies at IPP/UFRN (PPEUR/IPP/UFRN).
Frederico Bertholini is a professor at the Instituto de Ciência Política at the Universidade de Brasília (IPOL-UnB). He holds a Ph.D. in Public Administration (Institutions, Politics, and Government) from FGV, with a sandwich doctoral period at New York University. He previously served as Research Manager at Codeplan-DF and as an affiliated researcher at FGV/RJ.
PUBLICATION DETAILS
Title: Health Policies of Brazilian States During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Dataset of the Norms Produced (Políticas de Saúde dos Estados Brasileiros Durante a Pandemia de Covid-19: Um Dataset das Normativas Produzidas)
Authors: Michelle Fernandez, Frederico Bertholini, and Bárbara Maia
Year of Publication: 2025
Available in: Revista Dados, v. 68, no. 3
