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Mental health of female sex workers in the COVID-19 pandemic: stressors and coping strategies.

Pablo Luiz Santos CoutoCarle PorcinoSamantha Souza da Costa PereiraAntônio Marcos Tosoli GomesLuiz Carlos Moraes FrançaAlba Benemérita Alves Vilela
Published in: Ciencia & saude coletiva (2022)
The objective was to analyze the coping strategies adopted by female sex workers in the face of stressors resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Qualitative study supported by Systems and Coping theories. An in-depth interview was carried out with 30 sex workers from the Alto Sertão Produtivo Baiano between September and October 2020. The narratives were submitted to the resources of hermeneutics-dialectic to organize the categories. Four categories make reference to the system's stressors: negative feelings of fear, anxiety and difficulties in sleeping with the uncertainties in the face of the pandemic; concern about personal and family support; irritability in the face of conflicts; anxieties and insecurities with working conditions. Five categories allude to coping: strategies focused on the problem (pandemic); reframing and regulation of emotions; spirituality and religiosity; support networks and social support; use of medications. Stressors arise as a result of sexual service experiences combined with the pandemic situation with reduced customers and income, leading to the development of negative feelings and emotions. However, coping strategies are diverse and they women made effort to deal with problems and to balance their mental health.
Keyphrases
  • social support
  • mental health
  • depressive symptoms
  • sars cov
  • coronavirus disease
  • mental illness
  • polycystic ovary syndrome
  • physical activity
  • healthcare
  • optical coherence tomography
  • pregnant women
  • insulin resistance