Stress: A risk factor in the work of nurses in pediatric intensive care units

Introduction
Nurses working in intensive care units (ICUs) by the specificity of their work, they are continually exposed to the risk of occupational stress.

Methods
This was a descriptive exploratory research with a quantitative approach, which aims to evaluate the relationship between stress and symptoms reported by nurses working in ICU `s pediatric hospitals in Teresina-PI through the Hassles Scale Symptoms Scale and presented by the nurses. Data were collected through a semi-structured questionnaire to characterize the socio-demographic aspects. Part II of the instrument consisted of Scale Stressor Scale and symptoms reported by nurses. For data analysis we used the SPSS.

Results
The population consisted of 21 nurses with a predominance of females (95.2%), aged 41-50 years (42.9%), most attended graduate school (90.5%), with training time over ten years (42.9%) and 33.3% worked more than 10 years in the ICU. It was found that most nurses did not receive training to act in the UHD (90.5%), not consider the work day endless (81%) and had no desire to change jobs (71.4%). As for the scores of stress, 50% of nurses had scores between 1.11 and 1.97, classified as medium stress, the highest scores were: critical situations (2.49 ± 0.52), followed by overhead work (2.33 ± 0.61). The variables that reached the highest frequency of maximum stress were: remuneration (42.9%), constant noise (38.1%) and dealing with terminal patients (38.1%). Regarding symptoms, the field changes skeletal muscle had a higher average (1.69 ± 1.10), changes in the menstrual cycle (1.14 ± 0.65). Among the variables stand out: muscle spasms and cramps, muscle aches and lower back pain.

Discussion
There was a significant correlation between higher scores of stress and musculoskeletal symptoms and changes in sleep and rest. Both nurses and hospitals must make efforts to obtain grants to provide assistance and strategies to cope with stress.