Precarious work and Covid-19: repercussions on the health of primary health care workers

To analyze how the Covid-19 pandemic influenced the working conditions and health of primary health care professionals in a health district of a capital city in Northeast Brazil.

This was a qualitative study using the theoretical framework of the health work process, part of the formative research of the project "Expansion of testing, quarantine, e-health and telemonitoring strategies in the fight against Covid-19 in Brazil" (TQT Project). Data were collected between December 2021 and March 2022 in a health district of a capital city in Northeast Brazil to support the implementation of the aforementioned project. Twenty-two interviews and three focus groups with 19 participants, all health care professionals from the health district under study, were analyzed for their content.

The pandemic context caused repercussions on working conditions and health, with the effects of precarious working conditions and the implementation of protective measures being highlighted as key elements in the dimension of working conditions. Mental suffering, the impact of gender issues, and post-Covid-19 conditions were identified as the main elements contributing to the illness of the professionals.

The evidence set gathered in this study indicates that various stressors emerge or worsen intensely and inseparably among health care professionals, clearly demonstrating the relationship between the pandemic and the health-disease process of these workers. Therefore, it is imperative to reverse the situation of illness among workers in the post-pandemic period to mitigate its effects in the medium and long term.