MENTAL HEALTH OF NURSES IN PANDEMIC TIMES

REFLECTIONS ON SLEEP QUALITY IN WORK ENVIRONMENTS

Abstract

This research is an integrative literature review on mental health and sleep quality of professional nurses. The data collection was carried out through searches in the Virtual Health Library databases. Scientific articles with full text in Portuguese, published from 2017 to 2022, using words in the vocabulary of the Health Sciences Descriptors (DeCS) in Portuguese were included. The combined descriptors for the search were: mental health AND nursing AND pandemic. Theses, dissertations, book chapters and articles that did not address the topic related to this research were excluded. The search identified 37 articles which were read in full. In the end, 12 were analyzed. Most of the analyzed articles used a qualitative methodological approach. The studies included sleep quality and illness in relation to the work environment, the impacts caused in a pandemic context and the benefits of auricoloacupuncture. Abstaining from sleep, whether partial or total, contributes to the wear and tear of the body, and can trigger psychophysiological changes, so most health professionals are vulnerable to psychological stress, fatigue and sleep deprivation, which result in all areas of their lives, also interfering with learning and behavior. During the pandemic period, the nurses highlighted factors such as overload, worsening of sleep quality, scarcity of personal protective equipment, as well as layoffs associated with professional illness. Actions mental health promotion and rehabilitation in these professional sare recommended.