Sofrimento mental e burnout em trabalhadores da urgência e emergência: uma análise dos fatores ocupacionais associados
Sofrimento mental e burnout em trabalhadores da urgência e emergência: uma análise dos fatores ocupacionais associados
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.82082102605061
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Palavras-chave: Burnout ocupacional. Saúde mental. Serviços pré-hospitalares. Urgência e emergência. Estresse ocupacional. Distresse moral. COVID-19.
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Keywords: Occupational burnout. Mental health. Prehospital services. Urgency and emergency. Occupational stress. Moral distress. COVID-19.
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Abstract: Mental suffering and burnout among prehospital, urgent care, and emergency workers represent a growing occupational health concern, given their continuous exposure to critical situations, care overload, and intense emotional demands. This study sought to answer the following research question: which factors are associated with burnout and mental distress among prehospital, urgency, and emergency workers? Using a qualitative approach, this article adopted a narrative literature review, searching PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, VHL, and SciELO databases, covering 2006 to 2024, resulting in a final corpus of 60 studies analyzed through deductive thematic analysis. Results identified four central factors associated with burnout: cumulative exposure to critical incidents and trauma, work overload and adverse psychosocial conditions, moral distress and moral injury arising from ethical conflicts in daily practice, and the COVID-19 pandemic context as an amplifier of preexisting vulnerabilities. Discussion revealed that these factors operate interdependently and synergistically, producing progressive illness that compromises both individual well-being and care safety. In conclusion, burnout in this population stems from structural work conditions rather than individual vulnerabilities, requiring systemic institutional responses. Future studies should prioritize longitudinal designs, expand research into Latin American and low-income contexts, deepen investigations into moral distress, and evaluate the effectiveness of mental health interventions targeting these workers.
- Jacson Paulo Tessaro
- Dimitry Gabriel Kelim