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.

Common mental disorders and associated factors in nursing workers in COVID-19 units.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the interfaces between mental illness, based on common mental disorder screening, and sociodemographic, health and life habits aspects of nursing workers at COVID-19 units. METHOD: A mixed methods study, carried out with 327 nursing workers from COVID-19 units of seven public and philanthropic, medium and large hospitals in Brazil. The collection included a socio-employment, health and lifestyle questionnaire, the Self-Reporting Questionnaire, and interviews. chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were applied to quantitative data and thematic content analysis, with the help of NVivo in the qualitative ones. RESULTS: Common mental disorders were screened in 35.5% of the sample and were associated with female sex (p = 0.004), age up to 40 years (p = 0.003), nurse (p = 0.014), reporting previous illness (p = 0.003), using psychoactive drugs (p < 0.001), medication that was not used before the pandemic (p < 0.001) and reporting poor sleep/eating quality (p < 0.001). The impacts of the pandemic on social and family life presented interfaces with mental illness. CONCLUSION: The presence of psychological illness is suggested, possibly associated with the repercussions of the pandemic on work and personal life.

Routine of the unpredictable: workloads and health of urgent and emergency nursing workers.

OBJECTIVE: To know the perceptions of nursing professionals in urgent and emergency services regarding workloads and the relationship with their health. METHOD: Descriptive qualitative study carried out in two urgent and emergency sectors in southern Brazil. 16 nursing professionals were interviewed. The data were subjected to thematic content analysis. RESULTS: The first thematic category highlighted the workloads in the daily lives of professionals, highlighting Covid-19 as an element recently incorporated into the perception of biological load. The psychic load is enhanced by stress and suffering in the face of deaths, in addition to adverse working conditions. The second category showed the interface between the loads, the overload and the workers' health, highlighting the importance of the psychic load in mental health. CONCLUSION: Workloads are enhanced by working conditions and the relationship with the profession's work object, generating overload and risk of mental illness.