Safety of Healthcare Workers in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Nurses’ Understanding

Objective: To understand the meaning of worker safety in healthcare during a pandemic from the perspective of nurses, based on interventions related to continuing education in health. Materials and method: This action-research study is based on the constructivist paradigm. The study was conducted between August 2020 and April 2021 through open individual interviews, mediated by guiding questions without prior validation. The interviews were conducted with 19 nurse managers of inpatient units who had previously participated in a schedule of continuing education interventions in a university hospital in the South region of Brazil. Research data were analyzed based on Minayo’s thematic content analysis. Results: The research data resulted in two thematic categories: “Reframing knowledge and professional practices” and “From banalization to resumption of preventive care.” The categories indicate that, in addition to specific and normative educational processes, it is necessary to promote self-reflection and individual and collective self-examination. Conclusions: From the understanding of nurses, the pandemic period aroused greater reflection and self- examination among nursing/health professionals, especially concerning preventive health care, which is addressed as secondary.