A máscara, a cor da tarja e a saúde mental: o consumo de psicotrópicos relacionado à pandemia da Covid-19 por mulheres atendidas na Atenção Primária à Saúde

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic was an unprecedented and historical sanitary crisis. Understanding its impact on women’s mental health and its possible relation to the consumption of psychiatric drugs among this population is necessary, considering the existence of a rapid increase in the use of medications to manage mental suffering as seen in the most critical phases of the pandemic (2020-2022). This means highlighting the role of the Primary Health Care (Atenção Primária à Saúde - APS) not only as the main entry point to Brazil’s Unified Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde - SUS), but also as a major service during the pandemic and as the first way of assessing help for mental health concerns of the population. In this context, the present dissertation aims to identify and understand psychotropic drug consumption practices among individuals treated within the scope of Primary Health Care in Juiz de Fora (MG), in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic. Anchored in participatory research, the study was conducted over 1 year and 4 months of fieldwork in a local Primary Health Unit (Unidade Básica de Saúde - UBS). Community walks and home visits were carried out alongside Community Health Agents (Agentes Comunitárias de Saúde - ACS), in addition to five interviews with women residing in the UBS coverage area, who shared common issues related to psychotropic drug use and the mental health impacts of experiencing the pandemic. The three thematic categories – titled “My pain is mine”: gender, mental distress, and diagnosis; “We see that we really need this care”: psychotropics as a care strategy; and “I started to feel other people’s pain”: pandemic and mental illness – explore the most prevalent aspects reported by participants. Photographic records and Field Diary (FD) entries were used to enrich and contextualize the collected data. After analyzing the data collected, it was possible to observe that the use of psychotropic drugs was already a reality in the participants’ lives prior to the pandemic, and that the health crisis, in some cases, aggravated the use of these medications to manage mental health. The interviews revealed that women’s overload, responsibilities, and the intensification of caregiving roles within the family setting were repeatedly identified as worrying factors amid the health crisis, directly affecting the mental suffering experienced during that period and its eventual aftermath. Grief, a reality for some of the interviewees, emerged as an ongoing process still requiring care, especially considering that Covid-19 disrupted traditional mourning and farewell rituals for lost loved ones.