"The mud still rolls": implications of compensatory reparations for the post-disaster health service in...

The present study aims to analyze the needs of health services after the tailings dam collapse disaster in Brumadinho-MG Brazil from the perspective of managers and professionals. This is a qualitative methodological study, based on 26 interviews guided by a semi-structured script. The data were processed using the content analysis technique, and the interpretation was mediated by the theoretical-methodological framework of hermeneutic anthropology. The study showed that both the process of obtaining compensation and its materialization had a major impact on local health services, both in terms of the emergence of new health demands and the work overload of professionals who had to handle situations beyond their designated jobs, involving porous limits of agreements and negotiations between the population and the company responsible for the disaster. The analysis shows the need to develop and equate strategies that consider the guarantee of rights without compromising the health and quality of life of those affected: those who care and those who are cared for. It is expected that this study's results may support surveillance actions, health care, and future risk management in similar contexts.