OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS AND CHANGES OF HEALTH AMONG BRAZILIAN PROFESSIONALS NURSING FROM URGENCY AND EMERGENCY UNITS

Abstract

Objective: To identify the occupational hazards existing in Urgency and Emergency Public Units environment, and the related health problems shown by those professionals working there. Method: Non-experimental study with data quantitative analysis, transverse outlining, carried out at two units in a city in Minas Gerais state -Brazil in 2006. Sixty four professionals were used as subjects for the analysis, including nurses, nursing technicians and assistants, which correspond to 55.17% of the nursing professionals as a whole; for the collected data a semi-structured questionnaire was used. Results: The majority of subjects are women, aged between 20 and 59 years, nursing assistants holding permanent job positions with weekly workload of 44 and 136 h. Among the identified occupational hazards the psychosocial were the most quoted ones and the most common health alterations were pains, mental disorder and stress, sleep disorder, cardiovascular alterations and infectious processes, which mostly, coincide with the identified risks. Conclusion: The work environment in Urgency and Emergency Units is clearly stressing, which justifies the identification of occupational hazards in most of health problems that have been found.