Adoecimento mental e estratégias de enfrentamento de enfermeiros de um Hospital Universitário

Abstract

The world's working population lives with mental disorders, and it is estimated that many working days are lost due to depression and anxiety. One group at risk are health professionals, especially nurses, who dedicate themselves physically and mentally to patients for long periods of time. In view of this, there is a need to highlight the mental health of workers, since psychological distress is directly related to the effectiveness of their work performance. The aim of this study was to identify the presence of mental illness and the coping strategies used by nurses at the Professor Alberto Antunes University Hospital in Maceió, Alagoas. This was a quantitative, cross-sectional descriptive study carried out in 20 sectors where nursing professionals work. The instruments used to collect the data were a Sociodemographic Questionnaire and Aspects Related to the Mental and Occupational Health of Nursing Professionals, the Symptom Assessment Scale-40-R and the Folkman and Lazarus Inventory of Coping Strategies (IEE). The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Alagoas. 97 nurses were interviewed. The survey showed that HUPAA nurses are 89.7% women, with an average age of 39, 53.6% brown, 64.9% Catholic, 64.9% married and 70.1% mothers. 15.5% live in the Antares neighborhood and use cars as their main means of transport. Regarding their work profile, it can be said that 23.7% of these professionals work during the day, with 57.8% working 36 hours a week and 83.5% of these nurses providing care. Psychopathological symptoms were present in 35.1% of the participants, 8.2% of whom were monitored by a psychologist and 7.2% by a psychiatrist. The dimension that stood out with the highest mean was Obsessiveness-Compulsiveness (0.58±0.40). The factor of the stress coping scale most used was Positive Reappraisal (1.67±0.56). The conclusion is that the mental health of nursing professionals in this hospital context should be the focus of actions aimed at promoting quality of life at work, which will favor interpersonal relationships and health care for patients.