Nurses in Latin America faced severe systemic violence during the pandemic

Summary

A study published in Nursing Inquiry examined written responses from 3,860 nurses and midwives across 18 Latin American and Caribbean countries. Researchers identified recurring experiences of physical and verbal aggression, stigma and social isolation, moral distress, and moral injury during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were also blamed for systemic failures such as shortages of beds and medicines. The authors argue that these harms reflect longstanding weaknesses and inequities in regional health systems and call for stronger worker protections, ethical accountability, and institutional support.