Evaluation of quality of life and depression in nursing technicians and nursing assistants

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of life (QoL) and depression, and relate them to the sociodemographic characteristics of nursing technicians and nursing assistants in a private hospital. This was an epidemiological and cross-sectional study. The number of technicians and assistants who participated in this study was 266. The instruments used were the WHOQOL-BREF and the Beck Depression Inventory. The evaluation of quality of life of nursing technicians and assistants showed similar values to those found in individuals with chronic diseases. The presence of health problems led to higher indices of depression and lower QoL scores in the general and psychological domains and correlated to labor activity. Night-shift workers had higher scores of depression. Understanding factors, related to professional activities, which trigger health problems and alter quality of life, can provide tools in the search for alternatives to remedy or mitigate their effects. Evaluación de la calidad de vida y de la depresión de técnicos y auxiliares de enfermeríaEl objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar la calidad de vida (CV) y depresión, y relacionarlos a las características sociodemográficas de técnicos y auxiliares de enfermería de un hospital privado. Se trata de un estudio epidemiológico y transversal. La cantidad de técnicos y auxiliares que participaron de este estudio fue de 266. Los instrumentos aplicados fueron el WHOQOL-bref y el inventario de depresión de Beck. La evaluación de la calidad de vida de los técnicos y auxiliares de enfermería presentó valores próximos a aquellos encontrados en individuos con patologías crónicas. La presencia de problemas de salud llevó a un mayor índice de depresión y menor puntaje de CV en el aspecto general y psicológico; también se correlacionaron a la actividad laboral. Los trabajadores del período nocturno presentaron puntajes más elevados de depresión. Conocer los factores desencadenantes de los problemas de salud y de alteración de la calidad de vida, relacionados a las actividades profesionales, puede instrumentalizar la búsqueda de alternativas para sanar o minimizar sus efectos.

Predictors of depressive symptoms among nurses of intensive care unit

“…3 It is characterized by variations of mood and perpetuation of depressive symptoms including need for isolation, despondency, sadness, fatigue, insomnia, concentration difficulties, anxiety, fear, guilt, slowness, apathy, alterations to judge the truth, alterations of appetite, and presence of negative and recurrent thoughts. [3][4][5][6] Affected individuals, family members, friends, and the community experience intense suffering. 7 This disease, 1 is considered a public health problem.…”

“…In the first ten years and at the beginning of the second decade of the XXI century, researchers expanded their investigations in an attempt to understand the existence of an association between depressive symptomatology and its possible predictive factors, in an attempt to elucidate the relationships between these variables. 1,[4][5][6] Most of the research published in this period on depressive symptomatology related to nursing was carried out involving all professional categories of this team (nursing auxiliaries, nursing assistants and nurses). However, it is important to investigate each professional category since the attributions are different between them and there may be differences in the presence of depressive symptomatology and in the relationships between variables according to category.…”

“…This study only addresses nursing assistants in intensive care units. 1,[4][5][6] The guiding question of this study was to analyze if in an intensive care unit work environment there are factors that can be considered predictors of depressive symptomatology in nurses. In addition to these characteristics, the study sought to identify the prevalence of depressive symptomatology in these individuals.…”

Depression and suicide risk among nursing professionals: an integrative review

“…Both depression and suicide result from the interaction of biological, genetic, psychological, sociological, cultural and environmental factors, while being an important indicator of people's quality of life (4) . Depression is characterized by a prolongation of depression symptoms and mood swings (5)(6) . The person affected by this disorder has the ability to see the world as an altered reality.…”

“…Among health workers, nurses are the group most prone to mental health problems, with depression and suicide risk among them, because they deal with human suffering, pain, joy, sadness and they need to offer help to those who need their care (1,9) . Other commonly found factors such as the difficult working conditions and lack of professional recognition can also be highlighted (5) . Depression is one of the three most occurring conditions mentioned by nursing staff (6) , therefore, those responsible for health services should identify this problem early on, promote health at work, avoid sad and fatal outcomes, as well as the decrease or loss of care quality (1,5,10) .…”