Introduction:

Although it is known that death is part of the life cycle, in the face of a disease with many aspects still unknown, such as COVID-19, it is important to understand how nursing workers represent this phenomenon, since they are the only professionals that continue to care for the individual even after the end of life.

Objective:

to analyze the structure of social representations about death and dying due to COVID-19 elaborated by nursing professionals.

Materials and methods:

qualitative study anchored in the structural aspect of the Theory of Social Representations with emphasis on the Theory of the Central Nucleus, developed with 32 nursing professionals from the city of Natal, state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Data collection was performed online using the free word association technique. For data analysis, prototypical and similarity analyzes were used. Results: the probable central nucleus of the representations was constituted by the terms sadness and fear, and the composition of the peripheral system and the contrast zone reinforce this nucleus.

Discussion:

the core of nursing professionals' representations about death and dying from COVID-19 constitutes a controversial issue of representation and highlights the damage to the psychosocial health of frontline nursing workers.

Conclusions:

in view of the elaborated representations about death and dying resulting from COVID-19, it is necessary to develop coping strategies that contribute to the psychosocial health of nursing workers.

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