Trabalho na pandemia da Covid-19: estratégias de enfrentamento e repercussões na vida dos profissionais da saúde

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to develop a theoretical model on frontline care work in the COVID-19 pandemic, considering the ways of coping and the repercussions on the health of the professionals involved. This is a qualitative research that uses Grounded Theory as its methodological framework in the structuralist approach of Strauss and Corbin. The Onofre Lopes University Hospital of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte was the research scenario. A theoretical sampling of the population of professional nurses, physiotherapists, doctors and nursing technicians was carried out, divided into two sample groups: one with health professionals who worked on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic and the other with managers of the COVID sectors -19 of the institution where the study was conducted. Data collection was carried out through in-depth interviews, which were carried out in person and online, according to the availability and preference of the participants. A total of 24 interviews were carried out, with six managers, nine nurses, four physicians, one physiotherapist and four nursing technicians. Data analysis was performed through open, axial and selective coding, using the Atlas Ti 22.0 software. The results achieved made it possible to elucidate the central category of the phenomenon, Working on the front line of care in the COVID-19 pandemic, based on the support of five categories and 21 subcategories, thus, the categories are subdivided according to the paradigmatic circumstances: of the conditions: Working assistance during the pandemic by a highly transmissible agent; of action/interaction: Facing the adversities of working in care during the COVID-19 pandemic; and Engaging with people involved in the care of patients with COVID-19; and the consequences: Dealing with the impact of work on one's own health and Reaching teachings and overcoming the adversities of working in the pandemic. By highlighting the articulation between the categories, it was possible to represent them through a theoretical model of the studied phenomenon. Working on the front line of care during the COVID-19 pandemic represented a challenge for health professionals and managers in various aspects of professional activity and the personal dimension, which had to adapt to the pandemic situation, facing feelings such as fear, anguish, impotence and experiencing situations that impacted positively and negatively on patient care and on the way of relating. After facing the worst moments of the pandemic and having suffered direct and indirect repercussions on their health, professionals adopted different protective strategies, learning to deal with public health emergencies, re-signifying the situations experienced and achieving professional learning that propelled new perspectives of work. The theoretical model developed will be able to contribute to the planning and development of institutional strategies to face critical periods, characterized by an increase in the demand for health services, the presence of a highly transmissible etiological agent and, mainly, the impact on the health of health professionals, with suffering and illness in those involved in the assistance front line.