ANÁLISE DA INFLUÊNCIA DE FATORES DE VULNERABILIDADE SOCIOAMBIENTAL SOBRE O PERFIL DE CASOS DE COVID-19 NO MUNICÍPIO DE NATAL/RN

The aim of the study was to elucidate the potential influence of socio-environmental conditions prevailing in distinct neighborhoods of Natal/RN city on the profile of positive cases and fatalities stemming from the disease. A descriptive and analytical study was conducted, employing the analytical territorial typology based on the Environmental Health Matrix of Driving Forces-Pressure-State-Exposure-Effect-Action (DPSEEA) to discern the heterogeneity of conditions prevailing within the studied municipality. The findings expounded that areas characterized by superior socio-economic and environmental indicators exhibited elevated rates of COVID-19 incidence, whereas regions marked by greater social vulnerability registered heightened mortality rates due to the disease. Consequently, this investigation delineates how socio-environmental disparities may have influenced the disease's propagation in the Natal/RN municipality, accentuating extant health inequities as vulnerability factors in the face of an emergent public health situation, as exemplified by the COVID-19 pandemic.