“O QUE A PANDEMIA REPRESENTA PARA MIM É A MORTE, INFELIZMENTE”: UM OLHAR SOBRE O IMPACTO DA MORTE E DO LUTO NOS PROFISSIONAIS DE SAÚDE ATUANTES NA PANDEMIA DA COVID-19

Abstract

Proclaimed a public emergency in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought up relevant discussions about the work of health professionals and the impacts caused, given that they work directly with the disease which, until then, had little known about its consequences. Considering the adverse context of work and the lethality of the disease, this research aimed to understand, in the light of Work Psychodynamics, the impact of deaths and bereavement on health workers. To this end, 51 interviews were analyzed with professionals who, at the time of the survey, were working to combat COVID-19 in the Northeast. Based on the emerging themes, the method of Núcleo de Sentido proposed by Mendes was used, a methodology that deals with real and symbolic aspects of speech, resulting in four nuclei: analysis of the experiences of suffering, the impact on mental health, defensive strategies and subjective mobilization, and finally, the experiences of pleasure developed to maintain the meaning of working. The impact that the large number of deaths and the taboo surrounding the issue had on the workers was clear, emphasizing the suffering, the lack of support from management and the absence of public policies to meet these demands. On the other hand, humanization and work collectives were key to maintaining health and mitigating the consequences caused by the context, emphasizing ambiguous feelings during this period. It showed the importance of discussing the issue in a way that is more effective, with a view to reducing the taboo surrounding it and thus promoting health and meaning in the work activity.