Lessons learned from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil on primary-care workplace learning groups

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil had a major impact on face-to-face permanent education for health (PEH) workplace learning groups in primary care. Aims: The aim of the study was to explore how PEH groups in primary care changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A qualitative exploratory evaluation study was conducted with six key participants, who answered semi-structured questions in on-line interviews. Results: The PEH groups rapidly and successfully implemented an online approach using social media. The role of the coordinator changed from being a facilitator to an information broker for navigating the large volume of conflicting information and misinformation. Conclusions: The findings highlight the importance of being an agile organisation, with a ‘bottom-up’ approach to innovation, and the key role of having an information broker in rapidly changing and complex environments. An appreciation of the importance of the socio-technical system for technology implementation in an organisation was also highlighted, with the use of technologies that are familiar to members of the organisation.