Assisting Homeless Women in a City in Brazil during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Context of a Street Outreach Office: The Perceptions of Health Professionals.

This study aimed to understand the perception of Street Outreach Office professionals regarding the health care offered to homeless women during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a qualitative and descriptive study developed with nine health professionals of a Street Outreach Office team from a large city in the countryside of São Paulo State (Brazil) from December 2020 to April 2021. Data were obtained through interviews using a semi-structured script with questions about care practices directed to homeless women. The data were analyzed according to content analysis in the thematic modality. Two thematic categories were identified: (i) the reorganization of the Street Outreach Office to meet the demands of the population and (ii) the challenges in caring for homeless women during the pandemic. The activities were intensified with the team's expansion and distribution of supplies such as masks and alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Our findings showed that the primary problem faced was pregnancy during the pandemic. The lack of material and structural resources and social apparatus to care for homeless women was also evidenced. It was possible to conclude that even with all the adversities, the professionals employed creative strategies, contributing, within their limitations, to the care of homeless women.

Role of sociodemographic factors and self-efficacy in the perception of social support of nursing students.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the role of sociodemographic factors and self-efficacy in the perception of social support by nursing students of the first years of nursing school. METHOD: This is a quantitative cross-sectional research, developed with 121 undergraduate students from the early years of the course. A sociodemographic questionnaire, the Higher Education Self-Efficacy Scale and the abbreviated version of the Social Support Questionnaire were used. Spearman and Mann-Whitney correlation tests were performed using software for statistical analysis. RESULTS: It was identified that students with better self-efficacy and who are self-declared black or brown reported, respectively, greater satisfaction with the support and a smaller number of supporters. CONCLUSION: Considering that the race/color factor had a negative influence and self-efficacy a positive influence in the perception of social support, it is recommended that mental health promotion strategies be conducted that permeate both affirmative action policies and improvements in the teaching-learning process, especially in the first years of the nursing course.