COVID-19 INFORMATION AND HEALTH
MANAGEMENT IN LUSOPHONE UNIVERSITIES
Keywords:
health information, nformation ecosystem, Covid-19, information management, critical incidentAbstract
This article presents a qualitative study in two Lusophone universities, one Brazilian and one Portuguese, that articulates information, health and telematic services, institutional flows and responses adopted during the social isolation period of the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective was to understand how information technology services were structured and adapted to meet the informational needs of faculty, students and staff in a health crisis context. The investigation was developed based on structured observation of institutional websites and portals, complemented by semi-structured interviews with managers responsible for the information systems of the universities analyzed. The data were interpreted using the Critical Incident Technique, considering the dimensions of people, processes and technologies. The results indicate that both institutions faced system overload, reorganization of informational flows and the need for technical and emotional training of teams. The Portuguese institution showed greater resilience due to prior digital experience, while the Brazilian institution had to accelerate process digitalization and expand the use of collaborative platforms and community guidance. It is concluded that the organization of health information ecosystems contributed significantly to ensure institutional continuity, supporting health communication and consolidating digital practices incorporated after the pandemic period.