IMPACTS OF THE PANDEMIC OF COVID-19 ON NURSING CARE FOR HYPERTENSIVE AND DIABETIC PATIENTS IN PRIMARY HEALTH CARE: LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

The study aimed to identify the impacts of the pandemic on the care of hypertensive and diabetic patients in primary health care and to reflect on the strategies used to monitor these patients in the pandemic context. This is an integrative review with search for articles on the open-access virtual search site, Google Academic, in September and October 2021.The following descriptors were used: “Diabetes Mellitus”; Hypertension; "COVID-19"; Nursing; “Primary Health Care”. Inclusion criteria were complete articles, available in full, published in Portuguese between 2020 and 2021.At the end of the process, six articles were selected that made up the study sample.It was evident that the pandemic affected the care of hypertensive and diabetic patients, since it limited the continuity of non-emergency services, but among the strategies that have been used to circumvent the limitations of social distancing can be highlighted, for example, telemonitoring/remote care, the stratification of risks of individuals followed up and the prior scheduling of appointments. The patients were affected by the impairment of care in primary health care, considering that their pathologies need continuous monitoring, in addition to being a risk factor for the severe form of covid-19. Despite the benefits, remote care has limitations, such as limited access to the internet network and the need for training professionals.