Affiliations: Curso de Terapia Ocupacional da Faculdade de Medicina
da USP, São Paulo, Brazil
Note: [] Corresponding author: Selma Lancman, Curso de Terapia
Ocupacional da Faculdade de Medicina da USP, Rua Cipotânea, 51 –
Cidade Universitária. São Paulo, SP, Brazil. Tel.: +55 11
30918436; E-mail: lancman@usp.br
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Emergency room (ER) work includes dealing with
situations of conflict and aggression. The diversity and unpredictability of
these situations and the lack of pre-established procedures to guide workers in
dealing with these phenomena affect and weaken their physical and mental
health. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the article is to learn about conflict and
aggression at work and its impact on the workers in a hospital emergency room.
METHOD: The method is a transversal, exploratory, descriptive and
observational study, carried out from September to November 2008, using direct
observation procedures and interviews. PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred and eighty emergency room workers
participated in the observations and eleven interviews were carried out with
workers from several professional categories. RESULTS: The work process is marked by overload, individualization
of responsibilities, time pressures and deadlines for making decision, little
space for exchange and sharing, lack of support or guidance. The strong
pressure to provide care quickly causes conflict and aggression among users and
the different professional teams. These situations arise from problems in work
organization and users in excess of the ER service capacity. CONCLUSION: The article recommends changes in the work process that
can simultaneously improve both the quality of care for patients and provide
protective measures for workers.
Keywords: Health care professionals, working conditions, mental health
