| Abstract: | OBJECTIVE: to analyze the relation between the workload and the physiological stress
reactions among nurses working at a hospital service. METHODS: cross-sectional, correlational, quantitative study, involving 95 nurses, in 2011
and 2012. Spearman''s bivariate Correlation Test was used. RESULTS: most subjects are female, between 23 and 61 years old and working between 21 and
78 hours per week. The most frequent physiological reactions were back pain,
fatigue/exhaustion, stiff neck and stomach acidity, with 46.3% of the subjects
presenting low and 42.1% moderate physiological stress responses. No correlation
was found between the workload and the physiological stress responses. CONCLUSION: although most of the nurses work more than 36 hours/week, physiologically, they
do not present high reaction levels in response to stress. These workers deal with
conflicts in the vertical and horizontal relations between professionals, family
members and patients. In that sense, taking care of professionals who offer health
services can be a fundamental strategy, as good user care mainly depends on
healthy teams. |
