SARS-COV2 e o impacto da sobrecarga de trabalho em uma instituição de referência: representações sociais de profissionais de enfermagem

Abstract

This study had the following objectives: to know the social representations of nursing professionals who worked on the front line in the care of patients affected by SARS-COV2 on the impact of work overload; to analyze the existing relationships between the representations of nursing professionals about work overload and actions to reduce vulnerability to health problems for the team. Descriptive study with a qualitative approach using the Theory of Social Representations as a theoretical-methodological framework. The research was carried out in a tertiary reference hospital for the care of patients affected by COVID-19, located in the municipality of Juiz de Fora - Minas Gerais. For the apprehension of the information, semistructured interviews were used. Data collection took place between June and August 2022, and after being submitted to the Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, it was forwarded to the Institution's Teaching Directorate. The interviews were recorded on electronic media using a voice recorder, ensuring the reliability of the transcription of the testimonies to the Word for Windows program, in order to meet all ethical and legal aspects. The research participants were 26 nursing professionals. The interviews were transcribed and organized, resulting in four categories: from fear to coping with COVID19; work overload x struggle for life; professionals' representations about the importance of emotional support to the entire nursing team; the pandemic as a possibility of rebuilding a new professional. Data analysis followed Bardin's Content Analysis perspective. It was concluded that the pandemic built social representations, confirming the work overload during this period, revealing the psychic impact resulting from the disease, in addition to the work impact resulting from the number of leaves of absence of professionals, causing an overload on the mental health of professionals. This research showed that it is possible to reduce harm to nursing professionals in the context of a pandemic, suggesting that the senior management of the health system implement strategies that concern themselves with the professionals who confronted this reality, with the objective of reducing possible effects of psychic suffering to the possible manifestations that may arise and negatively affect their routine of life, through campaigns and psychological follow-up within health institutions and routinely, in the various health establishments in which nursing is inserted.