I was contaminated with COVID-19, and now?: a qualitative research on the coping employed by health professionals who were infected with COVID-19, with an emphasis on the use of alcohol and other drugs

• Grant number: 20/08989-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2020
• End date: February 28, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Collective Health - Public Health
• Principal Investigator: Lúcio Garcia de Oliveira
• Grantee: Rafaella Boro Pacheco
• Host Institution: Centro Universitário FMABC (FMABC). Santo André , SP, Brazil

Abstract

COVID-19, a disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, had its first case recorded in the city of Wuhan, China, having gained pandemic status in March 2020. The elderly and people with chronic diseases have been the main victims of the disease. In the absence of a vaccine or treatment to combat COVID-19, public health authorities have invested in preventive measures. On the frontline of combat are health professionals, who have been contaminated by COVID-19 during patient care, as well as have been forced to comply with the quarantine period as a way to prevent the spread of the pandemic, a period that is associated to a series of negative psychological effects. Objective: to identify the feelings raised among health professionals when they discovered that they were contaminated by COVID-19, the coping resources they used during the quarantine period and, above all, how was their emotional reaction when returning to work, in contact again with the stressors associated with the COVID-19. Materials and Methods: it is a transversal, observational, descriptive study based on the assumptions and techniques of the qualitative research methodology. An intentional sample of health professionals, working in public and / or private services in ABC, will be invited to participate in a semi-structured interview, guided by a script. The interviews will be conducted in neutral and safe locations and then recorded in electronic media after the participant's agreement and analyzed according to Bardin's content analysis. Perspectives: we hope that the results of this study can contribute to the development of care and interventions that provide greater well-being, reduction of psychic illness and more assertive care proposals for health professionals in the face of the crisis resulting from the infection by COVID-19. Key words: coronavirus, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Public Health, Mental Health, Health Professionals. (AU)