Stress experienced by professionals from basic health units in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

OBJECTIVE: To understand stress at work among professionals in Basic Health Units, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHOD: Qualitative, exploratory and descriptive study. Data collection took place through semi-structured interviews and systematic observation. The 20 study participants were professionals from two Basic Health Units (UBS) in a municipality in the state of Bahia. The data was analyzed using IRAMUTEQ (word cloud and similarity tree) and content analysis. RESULTS: It was found that the experience of stress is something present and striking in the daily lives of health professionals at UBS due to their proximity to users and the responsibility of taking care of their health. They tend to experience frustration, instability, physical and emotional exhaustion and suffering due to the pressures of the service and the weaknesses of the health system. Fear during the COVID-19 pandemic brought anguish experienced in the work, social and family environment due to the difficulty of carrying out daily activities. They faced situations of lack of respect and empathy, risk of contamination, work overload, physical exhaustion, discrimination and isolation. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: The stress of UBS health professionals was linked to the experience of overload in work activities, which was intensified with the biosafety measures adopted.