They also reported a low level of decisional latitude (48%), high emotional demands (47%), low social support (41%) and a significant effort-reward imbalance (67%). Those exposed to job strain (high demands and low decisional latitude), iso-strain (job strain plus low social support), and effort-reward imbalance were twice as likely to suffer symptoms of depression and elevated distress compared to non-exposed subjects. Conclusions: There are high levels of psychosocial stress among health care workers. (Rev Med Chile 2015; 143: 47-55)

The aim of this review is to describe and to analyze scientific reports about occupational violence in the health area. A systematic review of the literature on Academic Search Complete (EBSCO Host), Medline, Pubmed, Scielo, Scopus and Web of Science was performed and 23 articles were selected for analysis. Most studies are quantitative, measuring workplace violence and its consequences, including multi-stratum samples. They mainly measure psychological and external violence and their subjects are hospital workers. Violence is conceived as coming from organizational dimensions. Facilitators of violence are related to the nature of the job and the most commonly studied consequences are related to mental health. The main consequences of the phenomenon are depressive symptoms, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and work stress. The nature of the job as a facilitator of violence relates primarily to the place of work and to the profession. Most of the studies are carried out with multi-stratum samples and combine workers from different services. However, studies in psychiatric services and with nursing staff are also common.

HAC was independently associated with the participant's economic sector and perception of neighbourhood security in Chilean adults. It is important to perform in-depth analyses of contextual effects on individual alcohol consumption.

Workplace bullying has been identified as a global problem because of its growing magnitude and the harmful effects in victims and organizations. Workplace vulnerability is a component of job precarious1ness that reflects insecurity, fear, and labor uncertainty. This paper aims to analyze the associations between the exposure to workplace vulnerability and psychological distress, and to explore the associations between exposure to workplace bullying and psychological distress, by sex. A cross-sectional and probabilistic survey was applied to a randomly-selected valid sample of 1995 salaried workers in three main metropolitan areas of Chile. Chi-square test and logistic regression models controlling for confounders were tested. Female workers were more exposed to workplace vulnerability and presented a higher prevalence of psychological distress. Among women who were vulnerable, one of three reported psychological distress (30.8%), which is higher than men (16.5%). Workers exposed to workplace vulnerability had a greater chance of workplace bullying, workers who perceived high workplace vulnerability had a greater chance of psychological distress, and workers exposed to workplace violence had a greater likelihood of psychological distress in comparison to those who were not exposed. Increasing employment security can reduce the perception of job vulnerability and help prevent the existence of workplace bullying. Additionally, occupational health protection policies should prevent, protect from, and intervene in workplace bullying as a precursor to mental health problems in Chile.

This article assessed depressive symptoms associated with work-related psychosocial risk factors according to gender in Chile, using the demand-control model (Karasek) and effort-reward imbalance (Siegrist). A cross-sectional study was conducted in a random sample of 3,010 workers (35% female and 65% male) from the country. Data analysis determined prevalence and associations through various statistical techniques (χ2, logistic regression). Exposure to psychosocial risk factors at work and prevalence of depressive symptoms were higher in women than men (15% vs. 5%). The adjusted analysis highlighted that female workers exposed to Isostrain (OR = 2.34; 95%CI: 1.42-3.85) and low rewards (OR = 2.13; 95%CI: 1.41-3.21) and male workers exposed to psychological demands (OR = 3.04; 95%CI: 1.94-4.76) and effort-reward imbalance (OR = 2.19; 95%CI: 1.39-3.46) had increased risk of depressive symptoms. Exposure to work-related psychosocial risk factors was associated with depressive symptoms in Chilean workers. Effective prevention in key aspects of work organization is thus needed.

No abstract

(Rev Med Chile 2011; 139: 1185-1191.

Resumen: El objetivo fue analizar la asociación entre factores de riesgos psicosociales, dimensiones organizacionales, violencia laboral e indicadores de problemas de salud mental en tres hospitales chilenos. Mil veintitrés trabajadores respondieron una encuesta, se realizó análisis descriptivos, bivariados (chi-cuadrado) y multivariados (regresión logística con odds ratio como medida de asociación). El 14,7% de los encuestados reporta violencia laboral. Tienen más oportunidad de reportar violencia laboral los/as trabajadores/as expuestos a ISOSTRAIN (OR = 2,32, p = 0,001); desequilibrio esfuerzo-recompensa (OR = 5,52, p ≤ 0,001); liderazgo tiránico (OR = 3,02, p ≤ 0,001) y vulnerabilidad (OR = 1,97, p = 0,010), respecto a los no expuestos. Los expuestos a ISOSTRAIN (OR = 1,78, p = 0,024); desequilibrio esfuerzo-recompensa (OR = 2,49, p = 0,001); violencia laboral (OR = 2,13, p = 0,003) y vulnerabilidad (OR = 2,29, p = 0,001) tienen más oportunidad de reportar distrés elevado, en relación a los no expuestos. Los expuestos a desequilibrio esfuerzo-recompensa (OR = 2,84, p ≤ 0,001) y violencia laboral (OR = 1,76, p = 0,041) tienen más oportunidad de reportar síntomas depresivos que los no expuestos. Los expuestos a desequilibrio esfuerzo-recompensa (OR = 2,07, p ≤ 0,001) y vulnerabilidad laboral (OR = 1,96, p = 0,001) tienen más oportunidad de consumir psicotrópicos. Los contextos laborales con factores de riesgos psicosociales, dimensiones organizacionales adversas y vulnerabilidad laboral se asocian a una mayor oportunidad de violencia laboral. Asimismo, trabajadores expuestos a violencia laboral, riesgos psicosociales y vulnerabilidad tienen mayor oportunidad de reportar problemas de salud mental.