Nursing and employee health in a psychiatric institution

Abstract

Nursing is the profession that presents the highest risk of tension and illness due to the burden and stress occurring in daily life, making it possible to generate psychological suffering at the moment when one is unable to adapt the psychic-mental state to the physical relationship. This study was conducted with the objective of identifying what motivated the nursing professionals to work within mental health, and to acknowledge the possible problems that this activity provoked in their health. To perform this research, ten nursing staff professionals who worked in mental health for more than one year in a substitutive psychiatric institution in the south of Minas Gerais were interviewed, by means of a semi-structured interview with guiding questions about the performance of the nursing team. The content analysis method of Bardin was used as the methodological reference, and as the theoretical reference, the theory of Margaret Newman was used. By means of the results achieved, it was perceived that entry into mental health was due to the lack of options for work in other areas or due to unemployment. The work in mental health did not interfere in the physical or psychological health of the staff, who were able to achieve satisfaction and a change in behavior. It was concluded that studies of this nature can contribute to reflection on the practice of the nursing staff, with a view to the improvement of the care given to the individual with mental illness, starting from the comprehension that it is necessary to rethink the prejudices that still exist in relation to mental health.