Conditions and work environment in Provincial Public Hospital in the city of Cordoba, Argentina

Abstract

The purposes of this research were to describe work conditions, to identify work risks detected by the worker and to estimate the frequency of health problems informed by members of health teams in hospital in the city of Cordoba reporting to the Secretary of Health of the province of Cordoba.

A cross sectional study was carried out on 453 workers belonging to provincial public hospitals in the city of Cordoba, selected by simple random probability sampling, with a level of confidence of 95% and sampling error of 5%; a self administered questionnaire was used during the second half of 2012.

It was found that 35% of the staff have no permanent contracts. Having more than one job is the case in 36% of those polled. Perception of biological risks affects 77.9%; 50.7% is exposed to chemical substances and 51.7% handles heavy loads. The most frequent health problems were: gastritis (28.3%), obesity (24.3%), low back pain (19.6%), sleep disorders (14.1%), and high blood pressure (12.4%). The proportions of non stable workers and employees with more than one job, as well as the high perception of risks in the work environment should motivate the formulation of policies and regulations to improve work and employment conditions.