PROTECTORS OF STRESS AT WORK: PERCEPTION OF A TEAM OF NURSES AND DOCTORS. TEMUCO, CHILE

Abstract

This study goes in search of the protective factors of stress in the work environment that protect and benefit health in stressful situations. Our objective was to know the stress protector factors that are present in the work environment, as perceived by the health staff who work in public and private hospitals in the Araucanía Region, Chile. It is a qualitative study based on Glasser y Strauss theory, which included in depth interviews to eight important informers: Heads of Medical Centers, nurses, aids and physicians who work in critical and non critical areas, public and private, medium and high complexity in the Araucanía Region. They were recorded under permission and transcribed to summarize what they perceived. After this process the interviews were put on a software for textual analysis, assigning codes for specific themes and then we wrote down comments. Code categories were built on and categories were compared and relations were established between the commentaries and categories in order to analyze them together. We founded five domains of stress` protector factors in the organization. They were: organizational structure, clear definition of role, leadership, physical environment, and teamwork . The results pretend to be the first step to reveal the positive aspects of useful work to objectively orientate the future strategies to promote a healthy working environment for the employees.