The strain on nursing workers' health and the Covid-19 pandemic: an integrative review

Abstract

This study addresses the debate on the intensification of strain on the health of nursing workers in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, highlighting the increase in workload as an additional factor in the precarization of working conditions. It is anchored in the field of Occupational Health, which is based on the concept that suffering and illness depend on how workers are integrated into the production process. The objective was to identify the scientific literature related to the strain faced by nursing workers during the Covid-19 pandemic and explore the possibilities for coping with this strain. An integrative review was conducted, examining databases such as Cinahl, Embase, and Lilacs, using the following descriptors: “Saúde do Trabalhador”, “Saúde Ocupacional”, “Occupational Health”, “Salud Laboral”, “Pandemia de Covid-19”, “Covid-19”, “2019 coronavírus” “2019 New Coronavírus” e “Enfermagem”, "Equipe de Enfermagem", "Técnicos de Enfermagem", “Auxiliares de Enfermagem”, "Enfermeros no Diplomados", "Licensed Practical Nurses", "Assistentes de Enfermagem", "Nursing Assistants", "Asistentes de Enfermería", resulting in the selection of 26 studies for analysis. The majority of the works were based on the theoretical framework of occupational health (92%), relating strain to individual risks and behaviors, while a minority adopted the perspective of worker health (8%), linking strain to the organization of work processes. The results indicated a tendency toward an individualizing approach to the problems, neglecting the structural causes of illness. It is concluded that the scientific literature has approached the strain on the health of nursing workers in the context of the pandemic through a multifactorial approach that, despite advances in understanding the problem, tends to result in solutions that are disconnected and place the responsibility for illness on the worker themselves, disregarding the influence of structural changes in the work process.