Routine of the unpredictable: workloads and health of urgent and emergency nursing workers

Mass, Suéllen Fortes de Lima Santos; Centenaro, Alexa Pupiara Flores Coelho; Santos, Arlíni Fátima dos; Andrade, Andressa de; Franco, Gianfábio Pimentel; Cosentino, Susane Flôres

doi:10.1590/1983-1447.2022.20210007

Acessibilidade / Reportar erro

Brasil

Revista Gaúcha de Enfermagem

Español English

Brasil

Español English

sumário « anterior atual seguinte »

Sumário

Original Article • Rev. Gaúcha Enferm. 43 • 2022 • https://doi.org/10.1590/1983-1447.2022.20210007 copy

Routine of the unpredictable: workloads and health of urgent and emergency nursing workers

Rutina de lo imprevisible: cargas de trabajo y salud para los trabajadores de enfermeira de emergência

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

ABSTRACT

Objective:

To know the perceptions of nursing professionals in urgent and emergency services regarding workloads and the relationship with their health.

Method:

Descriptive qualitative study carried out in two urgent and emergency sectors in southern Brazil. 16 nursing professionals were interviewed. The data were subjected to thematic content analysis.

Results:

The first thematic category highlighted the workloads in the daily lives of professionals, highlighting Covid-19 as an element recently incorporated into the perception of biological load. The psychic load is enhanced by stress and suffering in the face of deaths, in addition to adverse working conditions. The second category showed the interface between the loads, the overload and the workers’ health, highlighting the importance of the psychic load in mental health.

Conclusion:

Workloads are enhanced by working conditions and the relationship with the profession’s work object, generating overload and risk of mental illness.

Keywords:
Nursing; Occupational health; Emergency medical services

Workloads	Emerging themes	Statements
Physical	Climate elements	[...] Weather adversity [...] is a difficulty [...]the excess of rain, cold (P13 - SAMU).
Mechanical	Lack of PPE and hard technologies	[...] Lack of PPE and hard technologies [...] lack of medication, the respirator doesn’t work at the right time, it's stressful in this part (P9 - ER).
Mechanical	Lack of PPE and hard technologies	[...] sometimes, I prefer to go to an appointment and not wear glasses [...] because it starts to fog up, you waste time, some PPE, their adjustment is not correct (P13- SAMU).
Biological	Covid-19 sanitary crisis	[...] every time a Covid transport call comes in it’s agonizing, you have to dress, expose yourself to the risk of contamination (P1 -SAMU).
Biological	Covid-19 sanitary crisis	[...] now we are in this pandemic, there are small children at home, there are families at risk as well, father and mother with diabetes (P10-SAMU).
Chemical	It was not evidenced in the statements.
Physiological	Ergonomic and postural requirements	[...] spine, because in the service, one thing you don't take care is this issue of squatting, of correct position [...] you have to carry the patients for a distance, leave the back of a courtyard, for an alley, taking to the ambulance, going down the stairs with a wheelchair, so this compromises the issue of joints a lot (P1 - SAMU).
Physiological	Interference in eating patterns and the sleep-wake cycle	[...] eating is out of the routine, sleep, you have to sleep during the day because at night you can't sleep, because you provide care [...]so this physical fatigue is a routine (P4 - SAMU).
Psychic	Work stress	[...] Our service is often against time, it causes a lot of stress. Sometimes you arrive from a care service, you can't sleep, you can't rest, it's so strong it's adrenaline [...] (P1 - SAMU)

Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. Escola de Enfermagem Rua São Manoel, 963 -Campus da Saúde , 90.620-110 - Porto Alegre - RS - Brasil, Fone: (55 51) 3308-5242 / Fax: (55 51) 3308-5436 - Porto Alegre - RS - Brazil
E-mail: revista@enf.ufrgs.br

Acompanhe os números deste periódico no seu leitor de RSS

[1] Corresponding author:
Alexa Pupiara Flores Coelho Centenaro. E-mail: alexa.coelho@ufsm.br