"Stress Level of Critical Care Nurses: Evaluation by Heart Rate Variability"

Abstract

Stress has long been considered one of the main health problems of the modern world, especially as it interferes in the quality of life and the individual's work. The heart rate variability (HRV) has been studied as a non-invasive way to evaluate the stress level for its relationship with cardiac autonomous regulation. In this work, we assess the relationship between HRV and the stress level of intensivists nurses. We analyse data from 31 nurses that work in critical care units of assistance to adults and pediatric patients. By proper analysing the HRV applied in this study, it was possible to observe that after working there was a decrease of components of variability. This allow us to claim that there is a high correlation between decreased heart rate variability and high-level occupational stress classified by Bianchi Stress Questionnaire.