Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the life habits of the nursing staff working in intensive care units of hospitals in the city of Campos dos Goytacazes-RJ

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic remains a major public health challenge. Most patients infected with the SARS-CoV2 virus are critical patients requiring admission to intensive care units (ICU) and qualified nursing care. However, the experiences of nurses from China and Italy showed that one of the biggest obstacles in the care of patients with the disease occurred within the scope of the organization of trained and qualified teams, staff dimensioning, management of supplies and equipment, and attention to the mental health of these professionals. Faced with this pandemic scenario, professional nurses face important challenges concerning care and the quality of nursing services in intensive care. The objective of this research will be to identify the impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on the life habits of professionals from the Nursing teams who work in the Intensive Care Units in the municipality of Campos dos Goytacazes-RJ. This is a cross-sectional study to be carried out between October and December 2021. Data collection will be carried out through an online questionnaire (Google Forms®) whose sample will consistof professionals from the Nursing teams (nurses and nursing technicians), working in the Intensive Care Units of Private and Public Hospitals in the city of Campos dos Goytacazes-RJ. Subsequently, the data obtained will be analyzed using descriptive statistics in the SPSS® software. This study aims to contribute to improving the quality of life and health of nursing professionals working in ICUs and, consequently, the quality of care and patient safety. Furthermore, it is expected that the results corroborate the need to implement health protection strategies for these professionals in the context of the pandemic.