Mariela Campos Rocha’s research while affiliated with Federal University of Minas Gerais and other places

Resumo A Covid-19 é uma síndrome respiratória que acometeu o mundo de 2020 a 2023, quando a Organização Mundial de Saúde decretou o fim da emergência sanitária. Nesse contexto pandêmico, os profissionais de saúde vivenciaram desafios diários, permeados por medos e perdas, reais e simbólicas. O objetivo desta pesquisa empírica qualitativa foi analisar como os profissionais da saúde que atuam no serviço público, na região metropolitana de Belo Horizonte, vivenciaram os medos e lutos durante a pandemia de Covid-19. Para tal, participaram 20 profissionais de saúde, de diversas áreas de formação, que atuavam na linha de frente nos dois primeiros anos de pandemia, selecionados através do método bola de neve. Os instrumentos utilizados foram questionário sociodemográfico e entrevista semiestruturada, ambos aplicados virtualmente e gravados através da plataforma Zoom, no segundo semestre de 2022. Os dados foram coletados e, após análise temático-categorial, emergiram três categorias: pandemia; medos; mortes e perdas.

Background Based on a feminist approach, we analyzed the experiences of workplace bullying suffered by women front-line healthcare professionals dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. We start from studies that show that women make up 70% of the global health workforce, 85% in the area of nursing, and 90% in the case of social care workers. An unequivocal need thus exists to address gender issues regarding the composition of the labor force in the health area. The pandemic has aggravated recurring problems involving healthcare professionals at the various caregiving levels, such as mental harassment (bullying) and its effects on mental health. Methods Data were gathered from an online survey of a convenience (non-probability) sample composed of 1,430 volunteer respondents, all women that work in the public health system in Brazil. The analyses and discussions involved the responses to a questionnaire containing 12 closed-ended questions and one open-ended question. Results The results revealed a context of workplace bullying aggravated by precarious material, institutional and organizational conditions in the area of health services against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil. This context has variously led to aggression, isolation, heavy workloads, and invasion of privacy, humiliation, persecution and fear as it was possible to see, mainly, in the answers to the study’s open-ended question. This situation degrades both work relations and the integrity of the healthcare professionals who work on the front line to treat Covid-19 cases. Conclusion We conclude that bullying is a psychosocial phenomenon that heightens the oppression and subordination still experienced by women in the contemporary context, but with new hues in a scenario of frontline response to Covid-19.

This paper presents the results of the research nested in the international project “Gender and COVID-19”, which includes several topics related to the impact of the pandemic on the lives of women and their families, including food insecurity and hunger. Semi-structured interviews were conducted from December 2020 to November 2021 with 49 women living in two urban conglomerates, Cabana do Pai Tomás (Belo Horizonte, MG) and Sapopemba (São Paulo, SP), and two rural quilombola communities, Córrego do Rocha (Chapada do Norte, MG) and Córrego do Narciso (Araçuaí, MG). The analyses were based on the following categories: hunger-related feelings and terms; reduced food amount and quality; lack of food and nutrients; difficulties producing food, receiving emergency aid or food donations; governments evaluation and support networks. The respondents’ reports show the challenges they experienced, their coping methods, and criticism of the government’s lack of responses. Besides presenting a gender perspective, women, especially the leaders who worked in the construction of solidarity networks, are fundamental voices in planning actions to prevent and mitigate the impacts of emergencies in their communities.

This paper presents the results of the research nested in the international project "Gender and COVID-19", which includes several topics related to the impact of the pandemic on the lives of women and their families, including food insecurity and hunger. Semi-structured interviews were conducted from December 2020 to November 2021 with 49 women living in two urban conglomerates, Cabana do Pai Tomás (Belo Horizonte, MG) and Sapopemba (São Paulo, SP), and two rural quilombola communities, Córrego do Rocha (Chapada do Norte, MG) and Córrego do Narciso (Araçuaí, MG). The analyses were based on the following categories: hunger-related feelings and terms; reduced food amount and quality; lack of food and nutrients; difficulties producing food, receiving emergency aid or food donations; governments evaluation and support networks. The respondents' reports show the challenges they experienced, their coping methods, and criticism of the government's lack of responses. Besides presenting a gender perspective, women, especially the leaders who worked in the construction of solidarity networks, are fundamental voices in planning actions to prevent and mitigate the impacts of emergencies in their communities.

Studies on the differential effects of health emergencies have largely overlooked women health workers. Whilst the literature has shown the impact of Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) on women and on healthcare workers, little research has considered the gendered effects of the health workforce. This article analyses the impact of COVID-19 on healthcare workers and working conditions in Brazil’s public healthcare system, through consideration of gendered and racialized understandings of care and work. Data were taken from an online survey of 1,263 health workers, undertaken between September and October 2020, disaggregated by sex and by race in order to understand health workers’ experiences of the pandemic in one of the countries most significantly affected by the crisis.

Esforços de pesquisa, bem como de políticas públicas da área da saúde, continuam falhando quando desconsideram fatores associados à categoria gênero. O conceito de sexo denota marcadores biológicos de homens e mulheres, ao passo que gênero é um conceito construído socialmente que reflete normas socioculturais, identidades e relações que conformam comportamentos considerados “masculinos” e “femininos”. Apresentamos aqui um breve panorama de problemáticas centrais às análises de gênero que têm afetado a resposta e o impacto da pandemia no Brasil: 1) emergências sanitárias; 2) trabalho e renda; 3) enquadramentos sobre masculinidade, paternidade, cuidado, violência e comportamentos de risco; 4) repercussões sobre saúde sexual e reprodutiva, contracepção, planejamento reprodutivo e aborto legal, demandando reflexão sobre direitos e justiça reprodutiva e; 5) apontamentos para o futuro, ressaltando a importância de ativismos e lideranças comunitárias femininas no enfrentamento da pandemia.

This brief describes differences in the secondary economic, social, health, and security effects of pandemics across genders. It aims to help decision-makers to address gender disparities in pandemic preparedness, response, and recovery plans. The document outlines the process of creating a gender-responsive pandemic plan and priority areas for action; it also provides recommendations on partnership and resources to support stakeholder efforts. This global guidance can be adapted to suit specific contexts and the resources of different actors. The Framework template illustrates how to record related activities and key indicators. By the end of this brief, readers should have a greater understanding of how attention to critical gender-related issues can facilitate development of pandemic plans that are relevant and impactful.