Experiences of Loss and Grief Among Brazilian Frontline Healthcare Professionals During the COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis: A Grounded Theory Analysis

Background/Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic exerted unprecedented pressure on healthcare professionals and systems worldwide. To manage this increased demand, hospitals extended working hours, resulting in increased strain on workers and impacting their professional well-being. Simultaneously, the numerous deaths due to illness meant that healthcare professionals did not have sufficient time to process grief, which may have led to unresolved grief and other mental health problems. The aim of this study was to understand the experiences of loss and grief and their repercussions on Brazilian healthcare professionals working on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This qualitative study followed Charmaz’s constructivist grounded theory. The study used the COREQ checklist. Between August 2024 and January 2025, 24 healthcare professionals who worked on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic were interviewed via telephone. Participants were primarily female (n = 14) with a mean age of 42 years (SD = 9.13). Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. Results: The core phenomenon that emerged from the analytical process is “between exhaustion and resilience in a war-like scenario: challenges and opportunities in the care provided by frontline professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic”. This main axis was anchored in three categories: (1) adversities imposed by COVID-19 on the functioning of health services; (2) witnessing sudden deaths and the physical absence of families; (3) reconstruction of meanings and personal and professional growth. Conclusions: The experience of grief was intensified by the peculiarities permeating the death process in the pandemic context and the modification of farewell moments. The study exposes a need for training programs focused on medical, nursing, psychological, and other areas of care education that involve not only understanding clinical issues but also recognizing loss and grief as an integral part of care processes. Importantly, legislators should allocate additional resources to services that provide psychological support to healthcare professionals, in order to promote their adaptive coping.