Impactos da pandemia de COVID-19 no processo de trabalho e na saúde mental de trabalhadores da Atenção Primária em Saúde do estado do Ceará

Abstract

This research was conceived as an investigation into healthcare in the context of COVID-19 and the field of Mental Health (MH) of healthcare workers. The general objective of this thesis and its developments were: to understand the implications of the pandemic on the mental health of Primary Health Care (PHC) workers who worked in the COVID-19 care line in Ceará. Specific Objectives: 1. to systematize the routine and work processes of professionals; 2. to analyze the existence of possible stressors, mental suffering, or similar situations in the professionals' work routine; 3. to construct an analytical synthesis of possible risks of mental health illness existing in the daily work of COVID-19 care; 4. to point out strategies for the mental health care of PHC workers in the contexts of epidemics and pandemics. This thesis was a scientific initiative in the field of qualitative research in terms of its approach, an applied research in nature, with exploratory objectives and procedures that encompass field research, documentary research, and bibliographic research through reviews carried out for its foundation and as a product of this research journey. The research settings were the primary health care units (PHCUs), or equivalent facilities, in the following municipalities: Fortaleza, Itapipoca, Sobral, Quixadá, Juazeiro do Norte, Iguatu, and Crateús. The research subjects were healthcare professionals with higher education degrees who were part of the COVID-19 care teams in primary health care, especially physicians, nurses, dentists, NASF-AB teams, or equivalent. Data collection was carried out through individual semi-structured interviews, either in person or via videoconference, through analysis of official documents, and with the application of the SRQ-20 instrument. Data analysis was performed using content analysis for the interviews and official documents, and descriptive statistics for the data from the SRQ-20 application. The results of this research are divided into groups: a) Results of the Literature Reviews, b) Results of the Semi-structured Interviews, c) Results of the Self-Report Questionnaire (SRQ-20), and d) Results of the Document Analysis. The final considerations version focuses on the following facts: healthcare professionals and systems were surprised by the COVID-19 pandemic; the routine and work process in primary healthcare were altered or completely redesigned to adapt to the new demands of the pandemic; and there was a significant and detrimental impact on the mental health of workers in the context of the health crisis.