Psychosocial factors and prevalence of burnout syndrome among nursing workers in intensive care units.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of burnout syndrome among nursing workers in intensive care units and establish associations with psychosocial factors. METHODS: This descriptive study evaluated 130 professionals, including nurses, nursing technicians, and nursing assistants, who performed their activities in intensive care and coronary care units in 2 large hospitals in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Data were collected in 2011 using a self-reported questionnaire. The Maslach Burnout Inventory was used to evaluate the burnout syndrome dimensions, and the Self Reporting Questionnaire was used to evaluate common mental disorders. RESULTS: The prevalence of burnout syndrome was 55.3% (n = 72). In the quadrants of the demand-control model, low-strain workers exhibited a prevalence of 64.5% of suspected cases of burnout, whereas high-strain workers exhibited a prevalence of 72.5% of suspected cases (p = 0.006). The prevalence of suspected cases of common mental disorders was 27.7%; of these, 80.6% were associated with burnout syndrome (< 0.0001). The multivariate analysis adjusted for gender, age, educational level, weekly work duration, income, and thoughts about work during free time indicated that the categories associated with intermediate stress levels - active work (OR = 0.26; 95%CI = 0.09 - 0.69) and passive work (OR = 0.22; 95%CI = 0.07 - 0.63) - were protective factors for burnout syndrome. CONCLUSION: Psychosocial factors were associated with the development of burnout syndrome in this group. These results underscore the need for the development of further studies aimed at intervention and the prevention of the syndrome.

Men's health in question: seeking assistance in primary health care.

The scope of this study was to analyze the socio-demographic profile, morbidity and frequency of seeking of adult men enrolled in a Family Doctor Program for health care in Niterói in the State of Rio de Janeiro. It is a cross-sectional study using secondary data, files and records of the first care visit in November 2003 through August 2009. The frequencies of the variables studied and the prevalence rates among those who sought and those who did not seek attention were calculated. Among the 323 men registered, 56% sought attendance. The main reason given for the first visit was a routine appointment. It was observed that 43 men were overweight, 26 were obese and 44 had abnormal blood pressure. The profile of the men who sought and those who did not seek care presented statistically significant differences (p< 0.05) for: age, education level, social security and reference to morbidity at the time of registration. Older men with social security reporting some morbidity sought health services more often. It is necessary to broaden the studies to acquire more input for public health actions and policies that contemplate this population segment and its specificities.