Working conditions in COVID-19 hospital units: perceptions of nursing workers.

OBJECTIVE: To know the perceptions of nursing workers about their working conditions in COVID-19 hospital units. METHOD: Qualitative, descriptive, multicenter study, carried out in September 2020 and July 2021 with 35 nursing workers from COVID-19 units of seven hospitals in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Data were produced through semi-structured interviews and submitted to thematic content analysis with the support of NVivo software. RESULTS: The participants reported availability of material resources and personal protective equipment, but perceived a lack of human resources, multiprofessional support and extra absorption of tasks, resulting in the intensification of work and culminating in overload. Professional and institutional aspects were also mentioned, such as fragility in professional autonomy, wage lag, payment delays and little institutional appreciation. CONCLUSION: Nursing workers in the COVID-19 units lived with precarious working conditions, worsened by organizational, professional and financial elements.

Cotidiano e desafios da enfermagem em unidades hospitalares COVID-19: perspectiva dos profissionais

Introdução: O trabalho de enfermagem em unidades hospitalares COVID-19 é complexo, desafiador e repleto de elementos cuja compreensâo é importante para o campo da Gestâo e Saúde no Trabalho. Objetivo: compreender o cotidiano e os desafios de trabalhadores de enfermagem na linha de frente do enfrentamento a pandemia em unidades hospitalares COVID-19. Materiais e Métodos: estudo qualitativo desenvolvido com 35 trabalhadores de enfermagem em unidades COVID-19 de sete hospitais do Sul do Brasil, por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas. O software NVivo auxiliou no tratamento dos dados a partir da análise temática de conteúdo. Resultados: da análise dos dados emergiram duas categorias analíticas: Desafios do cotidiano de enfermagem nas unidades COVID-19: complexidade e demandas da assistencia;e Desafios de ser um trabalhador de enfermagem da linha de frente: desdobramentos no bem-estar profissional e na vida pessoal. Discussao: pode-se considerar que a complexidade e intensificaçâo do trabalho na linha de frente causou impactos que podem conduzir os trabalhadores de enfermagem ao adoecimento. Sâo importantes açöes de promoçâo a visibilidade profissional junto a sociedade para desmistificar a imagem romantizada sobre a profissâo e problematizar a importância da enfermagem no enfrentamento da pandemia e os impactos sofridos por estes trabalhadores. Conclusao: trabalhadores de enfermagem de unidades COVID-19 vivenciam desafios complexos, com repercussöes em sua experiencia laboral e em sua vida.Alternate :Introduction: The nursing work in COVID-19 hospital units is complex, challenging, and full of elements whose understanding is important for the field of Management and Health at Work. Objective: to understand the daily life and challenges of nursing workers in the front line of confronting the pandemic in COVID-19 hospital units. Materials and Methods: qualitative study developed with 35 nursing workers in COVID-19 units from seven hospitals in southern Brazil, through semi-structured interviews. The NVivo software helped in the data treatment from the thematic content analysis. Results: two analytical categories emerged from data analysis: Challenges of nursing daily life in COVID-19 units: complexity and demands of assistance;and Challenges of being a frontline nursing worker: unfolding in professional well-being and personal life. Discussion: it can be considered that the complexity and intensification of frontline work caused impacts that can lead nursing workers to illness. Actions to promote professional visibility in society are important, to demystify the romanticized image about the profession, and to problematize the importance of nursing in facing the pandemic and the impacts suffered by these workers. Conclusion: nursing workers in COVID-19 units experience complex challenges, with repercussions on their work experience and their lives.Alternate :Introducción: El trabajo de enfermería en las unidades hospitalarias COVID-19 es complejo, desafiante y lleno de elementos cuya comprensión es importante para el campo de la Gestión y Salud Ocupacional. Objetivo: comprender el cotidiano y los desafíos de los trabajadores de enfermería en la primera línea de enfrentamiento a la pandemia en las unidades hospitalarias de la COVID-19. Materiales y Métodos: estudio cualitativo desarrollado con 35 trabajadores de enfermería en unidades de COVID-19 de siete hospitales del sur de Brasil, a través de entrevistas semiestructuradas. El software NVivo ayudó en el procesamiento de datos basado en el análisis de contenido temático. Resultados: del análisis de los datos surgieron dos categorías analíticas: Desafíos cotidianos de la enfermería en las unidades de COVID-19: complejidad y demandas asistenciales;y Desafíos de ser un trabajador de enfermería de primera línea: desarrollos en el bienestar profesional y personal. Discusión: se puede considerar que la complejidad e intensificación del trabajo en primera línea provocó impactos que podrían llevar a los trabaj do es de enfermería a la enfermedad. Las acciones de promoción de la visibilidad profesional en la sociedad son importantes para desmitificar la imagen romantizada de la profesión y discutir la importancia de la enfermería en el enfrentamiento de la pandemia y los impactos sufridos por estos trabajadores. Conclusión: los trabajadores de enfermería de las unidades de COVID-19 viven desafíos complejos, con repercusiones en su experiencia laboral y en su vida.

Pleasure and suffering of nursing in COVID-19 hospital units: between disenchantment and formation of meanings.

OBJECTIVE: to analyze the experiences of pleasure and suffering of nursing workers in COVID-19 hospital units. METHODS: a multicenter, qualitative study, developed with 35 nursing workers from COVID-19 units in seven hospitals in southern Brazil. Data were produced through semi-structured interviews, submitted to thematic content analysis with the help of NVivo. RESULTS: experiences of pleasure were linked to gratification, identification with work content, positive results in care, recognition, integration with the team and personal overcoming. Suffering was revealed in daily life of deaths and losses, feelings of helplessness, team conflicts, institutional demands, professional devaluation. Workers reported disenchantment, but also strengthening the meaning of their work, highlighting frontline impacts on their mental health. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: in the dynamics between pleasure and suffering in nursing work in COVID-19 hospital units, elements point to the risk of psychological illness.

Domains of Physical and Mental Workload in Health Work and Unpaid Domestic Work by Gender Division: A Study with Primary Health Care Workers in Brazil.

Various studies indicate that workload metrics can be used to assess inequities in the division of labor according to gender and in the mental health of health care professionals. In most studies, the workload is portrayed in a way that does not integrate the different fields of work, that is, work in health services and unpaid domestic work. The objective was to determine the effects of the workload domains of health work and unpaid domestic work according to the gender division of health professionals working in primary health care (PHC), and to analyze the workload as an inducer of anxiety disorders and episodes of depression. This cross-sectional study consisted of 342 health care professionals recruited for interview at primary health care units in the extreme south of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Sociodemographic and occupational variables, workload in PHC and unpaid domestic work, and dichotomies of anxiety disorders and episodes of depression were considered. Poisson and multivariate linear regression models were used for data analysis. Cohen's standardized effect size was used to assess the magnitude of the difference between women and men in terms of workload. The female professionals presented higher scores in terms of PHC work and unpaid domestic work and higher proportions of episodes of depression and anxiety disorders compared to males. The male professionals showed that anxiety disorders presented a medium standardized effect size on domestic workload and the level of frustration with family involvement was higher in those with episodes of depression. The results illustrate that the workload metric is an important indicator of female vulnerability to working conditions in PHC and in the family environment.