Perceived stress in workers of Emergency Care Units in Palmas, Tocantins

BACKGROUND: Emergency Care Units are environments susceptible to occupational stress that can lead its staff members to illness. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to identify the levels of perceived stress in professionals who work in Emergency Care Units in the municipality of Palmas, state of Tocantins. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted with 165 health care professionals working in Emergency Care Units. A structured questionnaire containing sociodemographic and economic aspects and the Perceived Stress Scale (EPS-10) were used. RESULTS: The levels of perceived stress were identified in the 3 groups evaluated, and were more frequent among professionals with higher education, with an average of 17.8. There was a predominance of women (64.9%), 84.2% of the participants were public servants, 52.7% worked for longer than 12 hours, and 59.3% had an average income between R$ 790,00 and R$ 5.000,00. CONCLUSION: Professionals who work in the Emergency Care Units are under stress conditions. Health preventive and promotion measures should be developed and promoted to minimize this reality.