REFLECTIONS ON PUBLIC HEALTH: MENTAL HEALTH AND THE POST-PANDEMIC PERIOD

Abstract

The coronavirus pandemic is one of the greatest public health emergencies experienced by humanity this century. Thus, physical and mental health has raised concerns about the suffering experienced by children and adolescents during the pandemic. The objective of this article is to systematize knowledge about the mental health rights of children and adolescents, disseminate information and foster discussion on the subject. Thus, a documentary bibliographic research was carried out, in addition to the review of the technical-scientific literature, seeking original articles in electronic research platforms, such as Scielo and Google Scholar, in order to condense the studies related to the theme of mental health of children and adolescents. It is presented that mental health care for children and adolescents is scarce and is concentrated only in the capitals and metropolises, lacking strengthening of the mental health care network, as well as structuring of small cities, aiming to fully meet the demand of children and adolescents. Finally, considering the mental peculiarities of each child and adolescent and of health professionals, the present theme was highlighted in order to raise discussions in the most diverse scenarios of debates, whether political and/or academic, discussing the challenges for the practice of psychologists in the context of public health in Brazil.