The novel covid-19: Impacts on nursing professionals' mental health?

Abstract

Objective: To understand mental health impacts on nursing professionals in the face of interactions with the novel COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This is a qualitative cut, from the macrosearch "Estudo VidaMenta/Covid-19", carried out with 719 nursing professionals residing in Brazil. Data collection was performed in a virtual environment using the snowball technique. For methodological analysis , the Discourse of the Collective Subject was used and for theoretical and philosophical interpretation, Symbolic Interactionism elements were used. Results: The collective discourse showed that nursing professionals' mental health was affected by: Interactions with the 'new' with the elaboration of meanings attributed to the pandemic; interactions with nursing care related to patient care; interactions with work demarcated by professional and institutional relationships. Conclusion: The fi ndings confi rm that there are impacts on nursing professionals' mental health in the COVID-19 pandemic context that manifest themselves through the interaction with the 'new'. In this interaction, they bring the advent of 'pandemic nursing care', permeated by specifi cities that have emerged and presents a possibility of changing the paradigm for nursing training guidelines, in technological advances in teaching and learning and in professional practice.