Health of nursing professionals: workload during the COVID-19 pandemic

The aim of this study was to examine the workload of nurses and its dynamics during the first months (January to April 2020) of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. An integrative review of the National Library of Medicine (PubMed) and Virtual Health Library was conducted using the keywords coronavirus and nursing. Results were analyzed based on the theories of Laurell & Noriega. The 9 articles reviewed emphasized the role of the biological workload associated with COVID-19, in addition to that of sources of psychological workload such as the fear of contamination, the burden of responsibility and concerns about parents. The successful management of the pandemic depends on our ability to mitigate the effects of this workload, especially in light of the quantitative and qualitative importance of nursing in health care institutions.