Frontline stories: the impacts of Covid-19 pandemic on Healthcare workers and students in Sao Paulo

Abstract

Brazilian health workers and students must face, added to the coronavirus, the lack of Personal Protective Equipments (PPEs), keeping of same work force in the frontlines, as well as an unstable and uninformative public health policy, contributing to an exhausting endeavor. This research evaluates the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the different profiles of healthcare workers and students in the state of São Paulo. The online semi structured validated survey was applied, with quantitative analysis through data processing by STATA 13.0, and qualitative, through content analysis according to Bardin. Our findings corroborate the prevalence of an important overload within the students and healthcare workers, manifested through mood, sleep and cognition alteration, anxiety, physical discomfort, pessimism and increase in nightmares. As a counterpoint to these challenges, the pandemic has brought a powerful learning process, by understanding the need to adapt and the importance of scientific research.