HEALTH PROBLEMS AND DISEASES CAUSED BY THE WORK PROCESS OF NURSE EDUCATORS

Abstract

Objective: To assess the health problems and diseases caused by the work process of the Nurse Educator. Material and Method: Descriptive, exploratory, qualitative study, developed with a focus on critical epidemiology, carried out in a School of Nursing in Chile. The research subjects consisted of 17 nurse educators who underwent individual semi-structured interviews until reaching data saturation. A previous category was established according to the literature, posing the question: What health problems related to the nursing teaching work do you suffer from? Content analysis was performed according to Bardin. To ensure the validity of the research, the rigor criteria of Guba and Lincoln were followed, and the approval of the Ethics Committee of the university was obtained. Results: Regarding the category health problems and diseases two subcategories emerged: The first subcategory related to “basic needs” includes three areas: fatigue and sleep deprivation, bad self-care habits and inadequate nutrition, dissatisfaction, and lack of motivation in the nursing teaching work process. The second subcategory “diseases” includes two areas: work-related musculoskeletal disorders and stress. Conclusions: The nursing teaching work process causes serious health problems for the worker that negatively impact their life and can even lead to pathologies. It is crucial to identify these problems in order to improve working conditions in the nursing teaching field.