Repercussions of COVID-19 on the daily lives of women living in a rural settlement

Repercusiones del COVID-19 en el cotidiano de mujeres residentes en un asentamiento rural

ABSTRACT

Objective:

To understand the repercussions of COVID-19 on women’s daily lives in a rural settlement.

Methods:

A qualitative study was conducted in a rural settlement of the Landless Workers’ Movement (MST) in a municipality in Northeastern Brazil between January and March 2021. Forty-eight women participated through semi-structured interviews. The data collected were analyzed by the Collective Subject Discourse method in light of the referential of pandemic processes.

Results:

The grouping of the speeches unveiled similar and/or complementary meanings about the coping strategies and the feelings generated due to the pandemic. Four Central Ideas were organized: denial to progressive awareness; Perception of the problem, acceptance, and explanation of reality; Negotiation; and Retrospection/reflection.

Conclusion:

The pandemic repercussions are intrinsically related to an inhospitable reality from the perspective of the experience of women daily forgotten, marginalized, and suppressed.

Descriptors:
Rural Health Services; Women; Rural Health; Pandemics; Coronavirus Infections.