Doenças emergentes e condições de trabalho de enfermagem: um estudo de caso durante a pandemia de H1N1 no Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

Infectious-parasitic diseases, up to the present, in XXI century are responsible for a high morbidity and mortality rate in Brazil as well as overseas. Many of them are widely influenced by climatic modifications that have been occuring all over the planet leading to an increase in their incidence and geographical distribution. Dengue is considered the main reemerging disease in tropical and subtropical countries. Malaria has strong incidence in countries that are in the south of Sahara desert in Africa, also occuring in many countries of South America that have part of their territory in Amazon region. A great deal of diseases have been frightening the population once again in many places, as leishmanioses, Lyme Disease, erlichioses, for instance. In March, 2009 the first cases of a new disease initially termed Influenza swine started to appear, leading some subjects to death in Oaxaca, a mexican city localized 400 kilometers far from the capital. Rapidly ,the disease had spread all over the country and later, in the beginning of April , 2009 there were some related cases in several countries. The overall aim of this study is to verify to what extent the nursing care that is carried out has expressed a higher or lower degree of control from the part of the nurse about his/her job, pointing at potential risks (biological) of illnesses and negative impacts into the worker health status. This study was developed by means of quantitative approach with longitudinal and observational design, a non experimental research and descriptive features. An observational analysis was carried out at the tents for their infra-structure and after this, a questionnaire was applied to the nurses based on matters as the biological risk they were being exposed. It is necessary that the improvisation culture comes to an end and a new reality come true : transmissible diseases are a reality, they exist and adjustments in relation to everything that is linked to health have to be achieved in order to envision a new context. It is essential that both authorities and professionals reflect and reconsider on the events from the past so as to old mistakes can be left behind and do not repeat again.