Objective: To evaluate the Work ability index for nurses in primary health care considering the sociodemographic factors and health conditions of workers.
Methods:A Cross-sectional study, of a quantitative approach involving 70 nurses of the Family Health Strategies of a municipality in northeastern Brazil. Data collection occurred during the months of May and June 2015 and used the Brazilian version of a standardized questionnaire to calculate Work Ability Index. For data analysis, the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for descriptive analysis, from the distribution of absolute and relative frequencies of the sociodemographic and labor variables.Results: As a result, it is highlighted that 51.5% of nurses reported "good" current work ability. However, the disease diagnosed more frequently in the last 12 months were musculoskeletal diseases, remaining the endocrine, gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases at the same level.
Conclusion:It is concluded that the high percentage of workers with a good ability to work. However, there is a need to restore the physical and physiological state of nurses working in primary health care. The mentioned strategies aim to maintain a safe and adequate working environment and encourage healthy lifestyle habits and provide permanent training.