Occupational Medicine & Health Affairs
Open Access

Abstract

Introduction: Depression is directly modulated by stressors in the workplace. The work stress, defined as a result of the imbalance between the demands of professional practice and the workerâ��s coping ability, is associated with the wear professional which articulates negatively with the mental health of workers. Objectives: To examine the relationship between depression and work stress of nursing professionals at a university hospital in S�£o Paulo, Brazil. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 310 randomly selected technicians and nursing assistants. The outcome analyzed was selfreported depression and its relationship with high levels of work stress, measured by Job Stress Scale. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression was performed. Results: The prevalence of depression in this study was 20.0%, more expressive in females aged greater than 40 years, living without a partner and among smokers. The chances of occurrence of depression were twice higher among professionals who had high levels of work stress, even after controlling in multiple regression. Conclusions: Depressive symptoms were strongly associated with high levels of stress among nursing assistants and technicians, showing a problem to be considered by the planning specific intervention programs for this population, as well as the need for better management of cases by the supervisors.

Biography

Edilaine C Silva Gherardi Donato has completed her PhD from University of Sao Paulo and Post-Doctoral studies from University of Alberta, Canada. She is designated as an Associate Professor at department of Psychiatric Nursing and Human Sciences University Of Sao Paulo -WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing Research Development. She has published more than 40 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as an Editorial Board Member of repute in Brazil. Her research projects are focused on work stress and mental health promotion.

Email: nane@eerp.usp.br