The mental health of nurses in the intensive care unit of a teaching hospital

Introduction

The factors that affect mental health at work are reported in scientific studies as a cause important in the determination of health problems. The ICU is the unit that appears over the rise of emotional problems in their professional. The nurse, in particular, which performs its activities in the Intensive Care Unit is considered as the most professional that develops these factors that can compromise health, living with sources of stress such as repetitive routines, the extension of working hours, extreme responsibility, are all factors that may cause physical and psychological damage.

Methods
Qualitative study, exploratory and descriptive, which had as its object the factors that influence mental health nurse intensivist. The objective - to describe the factors that can interfere with mental health nurse in the ICU; know the factors that can lead to the development of psycho-emotional symptoms among nurses as an indicator of psychological distress signal; discuss how the practice of care in the intensive care unit interferes the mental health of nurses.

Results
Data were collected at the Hospital Vargas of Teresina / Piauí, in the ICU - ICU 1 and - 2. The subjects were 14 nurses working in these units in the scheme of duty 36 hours a nurse manager and nurse industry welfare. The instrument of data collection was semi - structured, held in the period and October/2010 August/2010. The method of analysis was by semantic similarity of words and content analysis.

Discussion
The nurses in this study knew about the situations in their everyday activities that can interfere with health and disease, such as irritability, increased blood pressure, fatigue, pain, stress, drowsiness, anxiety, depression. The intensive care nurses experience in their hospital routine, many situations that can cause stress and can cause a rapid mobilization of psychophysical and cognitive capabilities, impacting negatively on their health.