Riscos ocupacionais e problemas de saúde associados às condições de trabalho de enfermagem em unidades intensivas hospitalares

Abstract

It treats of a quantitative study, descriptive, aiming for an analysis of the work conditions in intensive units of a university hospital in the Rio de Janeiro County. It was defined as study object the nursing workers´ perception about the occupational risks and the health problems inherent to the work conditions in intensive units and as research problem: which are the occupational and health problems related to the work conditions, perceived by the nursing workers, in intensive units of a university hospital? The general objective was study in the intensive units the occupational risks and nursing team´ s health and its relation with work conditions, from the perception of the same. The specific objectives planned were: identify the nursing workers´ personal and professional characteristics of intensive units; describe the risk factors of the work environment perceived by the nursing workers; raise the health problems perceived and its relation with the work; analyze the association between the health problems perceived by the nursing workers and the work conditions in intensive units. 125 nursing professionals of four intensive units of the Hospital Universitário (HU) participated of the research between May and July of 2009. The predominance was of professionals of female sex, with age above 40 years, with more than a contract of employment and working in the HU for more than 10 years. The more perceived occupational risks by the workers were the ergonomic, followed by the biological, physical and chemical accidents. The more frequent health problems were varices, ocular problems, lumbar pain, stress and depression, sleep disturbances, lesions of vertebral spine, headache, humor changes, chronic muscular pain and arterial hypertension. By the association between occupational risks and health problems, it concludes that the workers exposed to the ergonomic and physic risks have more probability of acquiring osteoarticular and circulatory health problems (varices). Before this research it needs the investigation´ s profoundness about the risk factors found and possible measures to minimize them, through new studies. As recommendations there are emphasized the creation of a discussion space between the managers and workers for a program elaboration that aims for the health worker´ s promotion and protection of intensive units; implementation of specific control measures for each type of evidenced risk and the creation of a Ergonomics Committee to optimize the improvements implementation in the HU, in order to consolidate the expected transformations.