Prazer e sofrimento das enfermeiras obstétricas decorrentes da organização do trabalho durante a pandemia de COVID-19

Abstract

The present thesis aimed to explore the experiences of pleasure and suffering among obstetric nurses resulting from work during the COVID-19 pandemic. The objectives were: to discuss the experiences of obstetric nurses in relation to work organization during the COVID-19 pandemic; to identify the feelings of obstetric nurses related to work in the pandemic context; to understand the coping strategies used by obstetric nurses to deal with work during the pandemic. This is a descriptive, exploratory, and qualitative study, involving 12 obstetric nurses from the state of Rio de Janeiro. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using the IRAMUTEQ ® software. The descending hierarchical classification resulted in five classes, organized into two themes. The first theme, "Organization of obstetric nurses' work during the pandemic," revealed that the work organization of these specialists was permeated by inadequacies in working conditions, expressed in the infrastructure of maternity hospitals and concerns about hygiene and safety; social, technical, and sexual division of labor related to the context; and tensions in the relationships between nurses and parturients and their companions, as well as between these specialists and other team members. Regarding the second theme, entitled "Experiences of obstetric nurses during the pandemic: the meanings of work and coping strategies," it was found that the work of nurses was marked by the duality between the rigidity of the new care protocols prescribed during the pandemic and the real work, expressed in adaptations made during care for parturients. In this context, it is evident that work organization interfered with the production of subjectivities of these workers, as it did not allow for the manifestation of the relational and distinctive dimension of their caring process, resulting in experiences of suffering identified in frequent reports of frustration with the changes imposed on care; expression of negative feelings; perception of lack of recognition of work by management; and feeling of inadequacy and devaluation in the face of work situations experienced, with repercussions on their physical and mental health. To deal with work-related suffering, they developed individual defensive mechanisms such as performing household chores, leisure activities, and self-care, seeking religiosity and specialized psychotherapeutic support, as well as actions that attempt to escape from the challenging scenario. In terms of collective defense strategies, cooperation and dialogue among teams were identified, which add gender attributes as they are related to the demonstration of feelings, vulnerabilities, and fears. However, they attributed experiences of satisfaction and pleasure to the opportunity to provide safe and quality care to parturients and their families, which gave meaning to work despite the adverse context of the pandemic, as it preserved the humanistic identity references of their care. However, suffering and identified social pathologies outweighed the experiences of pleasure resulting from work during the pandemic.