Exposure of nursing workers to workloads and their consequences.

Objective Measure the exposure of nursing workers to workloads and strain processes and their consequences, by means of indicators. Method Epidemiological, descriptive, cross-sectional quantitative study, conducted in 12 units of three teaching hospitals in the city of Sao Paulo. The study population consisted of 452 nursing workers and the data was collected from hospital medical records using the software System for Monitoring the Health of Nursing Workers (SIMOSTE). The data was analyzed on the basis of indicators that provided information about organizational dynamics, occupational health problems and their consequences. Results The health problem indicators revealed 879 exposures to worloads and 1,355 strain processes. The consequences indicators showed 2,709 lost days per year. Conclusions Exposure to different workloads subjects workers to numerous strain processes, which should be monitored in order to implement preventive measures.