Defensive strategies used by nurses in the estratégia saúde da família to cope with distress

Abstract

This study’s aim was to identify defensive strategies used by nurses working in the Estratégia Saúde da Família to cope with distress and keep working. This structured descriptive and exploratory study with a qualitative approach was conducted Estratégia Saúde da Família units in a city in the central region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. A total of 16 nurses participated. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data and thematic analysis was adopted. The results show that the work organization, conditions and relations are essential for the emergence and intensity of defensive strategies used in the workers’ routine. By using defensive strategies, workers can minimize damage to their health, however, there is a need to expand collective actions focused on occupational’ health, especially among managers.