COVID-19 and the occupational stress experienced by health professionals in the hospital context: integrative review.

Objective: To analyze Brazilian and international scientific publications about the stress experienced by health professionals in the hospital context during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Integrative literature review carried out on the SciELO, ScienceDirect, and LILACS databases, and sources of official Brazilian institutions, with documents published by May 2020.

Results: Of the 26 selected references, 19 (73.08%) were indexed articles, and 7 (26.92 %) were obtained from official institutions. The study found that stress is mainly due to the overload of hospital services, the removal of professionals, the insufficiency of personal protective equipment and strict biosecurity measures, challenges in the allocation of available resources, and the risk of contamination by COVID-19.

Final Considerations: The stress experienced by health professionals in hospital institutions during the pandemic can trigger occupational and psychological problems.