• Andréa Tenório Correia da Silva, Maria Fernanda Tourinho Peres, LopesClaudia de SouzaCde SDepartment of Epidemiology, Institute of Social Medicine, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Rua São Francisco Xavier 524, 7° andar, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP 20559-900, Brazil., Lilia Blima Schraiber, Ezra Susser, and Paulo Rossi Menezes.
• Department of Preventive Medicine, Medical School of the University of São Paulo, Av. Dr. Arnaldo, 455, 2° andar, Cerqueira Cesar, São Paulo, SP, CEP 01246-903, Brazil. andreatenorio@usp.br.
• Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2015 Sep 1; 50 (9): 1347-55.

PurposeImplementation of primary care has long been a priority in low- and middle-income countries. Violence at work may hamper progress in this field. Hence, we examined the associations between violence at work and depressive symptoms/major depression in primary care teams (physicians, nurses, nursing assistants, and community health workers).MethodsA cross-sectional study was undertaken in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil. We assessed a random sample of Family Health Program teams. We investigated depressive symptoms and major depression using the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), and exposure to violence at work in the previous 12 months using a standardized questionnaire. Associations between exposure to violence and depressive symptoms/major depression were analyzed using multinomial logistic regression.ResultsOf 3141 eligible workers, 2940 (93 %) completed the interview. Of these, 36.3 % (95 % CI 34.6-38.1) presented intermediate depressive symptoms, and 16 % (95 % CI 14.6-17.2), probable major depression. The frequencies of exposure to the different types of violence at work were: insults (44.9 %), threats (24.8 %), physical aggression (2.3 %), and witnessing violence (29.5 %). These exposures were strongly and progressively associated with depressive symptoms (adjusted odds ratio 1.67 for exposure to one type of violence; and 5.10 for all four types), and probable major depression (adjusted odds ratio 1.84 for one type; and 14.34 for all four types).ConclusionPrimary care workers presenting depressive symptoms and those who have experienced violence at work should be assisted. Policy makers should prioritize strategies to prevent these problems, since they can threaten primary care sustainability.

29 keywords...

hide…