Saúde mental dos enfermeiros durante a pandemia de Covid-19

Abstract

Currently, even with the reduction in the incidence of COVID-19 cases, the scenario of epidemiological uncertainty of an increase in cases due to new variants of Covid-19 continues. In-depth studies on this topic are valuable due to the nature of the services that nursing professionals provide, since the quality and effectiveness of their work can have a decisive impact on patients' health. Given this context, the aim of this research was to analyze the mental health and quality of life of nurses who worked with suspected and confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the public health care network in the city of Uberaba/MG in 2021. This study was based on a cross-sectional quantitative approach. Nurses from the municipality of Uberaba, Minas Gerais, who worked in the Unified Health System (SUS) at the three levels of health care (primary care, emergency care units, and hospitals) who worked in nursing care during the Covid-19 pandemic were invited to participate in the survey. The estimated sample size was 55 nurses. To assess the sociodemographic profile, the questionnaire prepared by the researchers was applied, divided into three parts, seeking to identify the participant's sociodemographic and professional data, aspects of continuing education and aspects of professional training on the subject of Covid-19. The Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20) was used to assess common menstrual disorders. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) for Windows version 25.0. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used. The validated instruments (WHOQOL-bref and SRQ-20) that make up the study were analyzed in accordance with the recommendations of their respective validation articles and available syntax. For all inferential statistical procedures, an α significance level of 5% was considered. The research project was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Federal University of the Triângulo Mineiro, under CAAE number: 30901020.0.0000.5154 and opinion number: 4.060.241. Seventy-two nurses took part in the study, predominantly female, aged between 31 and 40, the majority did not have a partner and were Catholic. There was a predominance of Basic Health Unit (BHU) workers, who had been working in the institution for more than 5 years, the majority were CLT, followed by municipal civil servants. They had a monthly income of between 3 and 5 minimum wages (MW), with 10 or more years of professional experience (61.0%). Most reported having had training on COVID-19, having sufficient PPE available to work during the pandemic, and that there had been an intensification of individual protection measures. A considerable number of nurses already had symptoms that affected their metal health before the pandemic, such as anxiety, and some were already being treated mainly with medication. Of the professionals who discovered mental disorders related to the pandemic, 33.3% sought treatment. The SQR-20 indicated a positive screening for common mental disorders. In terms of quality of life, the environmental domain assessed by the WHOQOL-bref had the lowest average of all the domains. As for the total score in this study, the nurses had a mean score of 67.8 (±14.2), indicating an average perception of quality of life. In order to confirm the correlations, it was found that the presence of CMD remained significant, as did the length of time working with COVID-19 patients, for the Environment domain. For the social relationships domain, the SQR-20 score was significant, as was the psychological domain. For the physical domain, pandemic-related anxiety treatment, pandemic-related depression treatment and the SQR-20 score were significant. There was a significant impact on nurses' mental health, which is already a delicate point since health professionals in general, especially nurses, are already vulnerable to common mental disorders.