Banca de DEFESA: ELAINE DE SOUZA REIS

Uma banca de DEFESA de MESTRADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : ELAINE DE SOUZA REIS
DATE: 01/04/2024
TIME: 14:00
LOCAL: Faculdade de Medicina - Terreiro de Jesus
TITLE:

Violence at work and Common Mental Disorders in health workers from three municipalities in Bahia

KEY WORDS:

mental disorders, workplace violence; health workers.

PAGES: 143
BIG AREA: Ciências da Saúde
AREA: Saúde Coletiva
SUBÁREA: Epidemiologia
SUMMARY:

Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic, health workers gained recognition for their importance for social well-being, and were even called “heroes” by the press. However, along with this recognition, weaknesses in the work environment were also revealed, such as exposure to violence. Due to their daily coexistence with human suffering, these workers become easy targets for the accumulation of frustrations, stress, fears and desires on the part of patients, friends and family members who, in moments of anguish and despair, can manifest violent behavior. Likewise, the organization of work, with the exacerbation of occupational stressors and work overload, makes the work environment susceptible to other violence, such as aggression and harassment between colleagues. At the same time, CMDs have shown significant growth, especially among health workers in recent years, being responsible for one of the 5 main causes of absence from work and the third cause of granting benefits by Social Security. This context of health work, with stressors and situations of violence, is associated with a greater occurrence of mental health problems, such as Common Mental Disorders (CMDs), which may be aggravated in the Brazilian community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Objectives: Therefore, this dissertation aimed to analyze the association between exposure to violence at work and CMD in primary and medium complexity health care workers in three municipalities in Bahia, in northeastern Brazil. Methods: An analytical cross-sectional epidemiological study was carried out, with a representative sample of health workers from three municipalities in the State of Bahia: Feira de Santana, São Gonçalo dos Campos and Cruz das Almas. The target population was made up of health workers in Primary Care and Medium Complexity. The final sample of this study consisted of 1,011 participants, respondents to the questionnaires used. Data collection began in March 2021, and ended in May 2022. The outcome of common mental disorders was assessed using the Self-Report Questionnaire (SRQ-20), while exposure to violence was assessed using specific questions about aggression and violence at work, which included a structured questionnaire and blocks of questions relevant to the topic. The psychosocial aspects of work were assessed using the Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) scale. Results: The final sample of this study consisted of 1,011 participants, respondents to the questionnaires used and with complete information about the variables of interest. The prevalence of CMDs among 1,011 primary and medium complexity healthcare workers was 35.8%. Workers exposed to violent situations were 2.1 times more likely to experience the outcome (OR = 2.14; 95% CI 1.37- 3.35), even after adjusting for confounding factors. Psychosocial work factors such as effort and reward imbalance and excessive commitment were also positively associated with CMD. Discussion: The study findings confirm the hypothesis that violence in healthcare work, in the post-COVID-19 pandemic context, is associated with CMDs, with violence being an independent health risk factor. The results are consistent with previous literature from other countries and other contexts, as they demonstrate that individuals who experience violent situations in their work environment have a greater chance of CMD, with violence being an independent health risk factor. The results also demonstrated the high prevalence of CMDs among primary and medium complexity healthcare workers, which points to the need for preventive and health promotion actions for this group of workers within the scope of the Unified Health System. Unlike sociodemographic and occupational profile factors, which were not associated with the outcome, other psychosocial work stressors, such as the imbalance between efforts and rewards and the excessive commitment of these health workers also deserve attention, having presented effect measures of great magnitude and, which suggests that interventions that minimize violence at work and its possible effects on mental health should focus on work organization and social determinants of health.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Presidente - 1224175 - FERNANDO RIBAS FEIJO
Interna - 1067230 - MILENA MARIA CORDEIRO DE ALMEIDA
Externa à Instituição - PALOMA DE SOUSA PINHO FREITAS - UFRB