Prevalence and factors associated with minor psychiatric disorders in hospital housekeeping workers*

Abstract

Objective:Investigating the prevalence and factors associated with minor psychiatric disorders (MPDs) in Hospital housekeeping workers. Method: A cross-sectional study carried out in 2013 with workers from the cleaning service of a public university hospital in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Data were collected through a form containing sociodemographic, occupational, habits and health variables. The Self-Reporting Questionnaire-20 was used in order to evaluate MPDs. Results: The study population consisted of 161 workers. The overall prevalence of suspected MPD was 29.3%. The chances of suspected MPDs were higher in workers with Effort-Reward Imbalance, those who did not have time or who occasionally had time for leisure activities, and those taking medications. Conclusion: The prevalence of MPDs was similar to that found in the literature for health workers. Therefore, we consider it important to include these workers in institutional programs for continuing health education. DESCRIPTORSHousekeeping, Hospital; Workers; Stress, Psychological; Occupational Health; Occupational Risks.Prevalence and factors associated with minor psychiatric disorders in hospital housekeeping workers* Prevalência e fatores associados aos distúrbios psíquicos menores em trabalhadores do serviço hospitalar de limpeza Prevalencia y factores asociados con los disturbios psíquicos menores en trabajadores del servicio hospitalario de limpieza

Factors associated with common mental disorders in a hospital cleaning staff

“…The results corroborate with other studies carried out among hospital cleaners regarding the predominance of women (3,5) , complete high school education, and absence of any association between sociodemographic and labor conditions with common mental disorders (5)(6) . The predominance of women in this activity is related to the gender inequality that attributes to women activities related to domestic work, a less socially valued activity when compared to those performed by men (3) .…”

“…This reliable and easy-to-apply instrument contains 20 items, with two possible responses (yes/no) and a high discriminating power for positive cases. The cut off point for this study was defined as eight or more positive responses for women and six or more for men (5,11) .…”

“…Cleaning service professionals working in hospitals are exposed to increased risks for the appearence of health problems (5) . Some of these are mental health problems, which have grown and become a highly significant concern for both public health and the economy (5)(6)(7)(8) , since they represent more than a third of the total number of disabilities in the Americas, with Brazil at the top of the ranking of disability (8) .…”

“…Mental disorders can appear through symptoms such as insomnia, fatigue, forgetfulness, irritability, difficulty concentrating, somatic complaints and feelings of worthlessness, in addition to anxiety and depression, and can be generated from high work demands, predominantly among women (5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10) .…”

La importancia del servicio y departamento de housekeeping en centros hospitalarios. Apuntes sobre su definición, características y gestión

“…• Prevalence and associated factors to occupational accidents in the hospital housekeeping (Diniz da Silva Ceron et al, 2015); • Prevalence and factors associated with minor psychiatric disorders in hospital housekeeping workers (Marconato et al, 2017); y • Servicio de housekeeping en las habitaciones de la clínica Ricardo Palma y su relación con el bienestar del paciente -2018 (Vizcarra, 2019).…”