Nurses' workload and its relation with physiological stress reactions

• Published in: Revista latino-americana de enfermagem 2014-12, Vol.22 (6), p.959-965
• Main Authors: Dalri, Rita de Cássia de Marchi Barcellos, da Silva, Luiz Almeida, Mendes, Aida Maria Oliveira Cruz, Robazzi, Maria Lúcia do Carmo Cruz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Cross-Sectional Studies; Enfermedades Profesionales; Enfermería; Enfermería del Trabajo; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; NURSING; Original; Servicios de Enfermería em Hospital; Stress, Physiological; Trabajo; Workload - statistics & numerical data; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0104-1169; 1518-8345; 1518-8345; 0104-1169
• DOI: 10.1590/0104-1169.3292.2503

to analyze the relation between the workload and the physiological stress reactions among nurses working at a hospital service. cross-sectional, correlational, quantitative study, involving 95 nurses, in 2011 and 2012. Spearman's bivariate Correlation Test was used. 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. 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.