Factors associated with occupational stress among nursing professionals in health services of medium complexity.

Objective: To analyze the factors associated with occupational stress among nursing workers in health services of medium complexity.

Methods: Epidemiological, cross-sectional, exploratory study. A randomly selected sample of 126 nursing professionals from medium complexity services in three cities in the state of Bahia (Santo Antônio de Jesus, Feira de Santana and Itabuna) was investigated. Data were collected in 2011 and 2012. The demand-control model proposed by Karasek was used to assess occupational stress. Simultaneous analysis of occupational stressors was performed using Poisson regression with robust variance.

Results: The prevalence of occupational stress among nursing professionals was 77%. Occupational stress was associated with the professional category of nursing technician (p=0.01).

Conclusion: The data indicates a concerning situation of exposure to occupational stressors, which requires coping strategies in order to protect the health of the worker.