Abstract

FRANCO, Lucas Jivago Lourenço; CORSINO, Debora Lydinês Martins  and  CORDEIRO, Sílvia Nogueira. The effects of psychic helplessness in health professionals in the care of patients with COVID-19. Rev. SBPH [online]. 2022, vol.25, n.2, pp. 17-30. ISSN 1516-0858.  http://dx.doi.org/10.57167/Rev-SBPH.v25.484.

The COVID-19 infection, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, was responsible for a worldwide pandemic, causing great impact on society as a whole, especially in the field of health. Regarding the professionals struggling against the virus in the frontline, it is known that they were one of the first working classes affected by this new scenario. Thereby, the present research aimed to understand the effects on the mental health of health professionals who experienced the process of caring for ill patients with COVID-19. The study design was presented as descriptive, of a clinical-qualitative nature. Semi-structured interviews were used, with open questions directed at seven health professionals who worked in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in hospitals in Paraná. The results and discussion were presented in the form of categories, which were studied using the method of content analysis by Bardin. It was possible to understand that the hospital professional experiences, for those present on the front line of the pandemic, were marked by psychological overload, which brought suffering to health professionals, resulting from the specificity of treating COVID-19 patients, excess of cases and lack of support from the responsible agencies.

Keywords : coronavirus; pandemic; healthcare professionals; mental health.

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