Reports from the frontline: health workers describe COVID-19 risks and fears in five cities in Brazil

• Autor(a) principal: Kendall, Carl
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Outros Autores: Ellery, Ana Ecilda Lima, Carneiro Junior, Nivaldo, Santana, Rosane da Silva, Cruz, Luciane Nascimento, Cohen, Mírian, Leal, Marto, Lima, Luana Nepomuceno Gondim Costa, Veras, Maria Amélia de Sousa Mascena, Albuquerque, Maria de Fátima Pessoa Militão de, Lima, Karla Valéria Batista, Martelli, Celina Maria Turchi, Kerr, Ligia Regina Franco Sansigolo
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Digital do Instituto Evandro Chagas (Patuá)
• Texto Completo: https://patua.iec.gov.br/handle/iec/6781
• topic: Pessoal de Saúde / psicologia; Unidades Hospitalares; COVID-19; Assistência Hospitalar; Pesquisa Qualitativa

Background: Health providers are under unprecedented pressures to perform in the COVID-19 health crisis and under unprecedented risks. We initiated a large mixed-method survey of health professionals in fve large metropolitan areas in Brazil to document the risks and needs of health professionals. To initiate the study, we conducted formative research. Methods: We conducted 77 open-ended semi-structured interviews online in a convenience sample of physicians, nurses, nurse technicians, and physiotherapists in Belem, Fortaleza, Porto Alegre, Recife, and São Paulo, Brazil. Design, data collection, and analysis were informed by Rapid Ethnographic Analysis (REA). Results: Responses are organized into three themes that emerged in the interviews: the lack of preparation – both locally and nationally—for the pandemic and its efects on stafng and training; the overlap of personal, family, and professional risk and consequences; and inadequately addressed anxiety and sufering among health staf. Conclusions: Our respondents were unprepared for the epidemic, especially the institutional sequelae and psychological cost. These consequences were exacerbated by both lack of leadership and sweeping changes undercutting the Brazilian health system noted by almost all participants.