PERCEPÇÃO DE FONTES DE ESTRESSE OCUPACIONAL, COPING E RESILIÊNCIA NO FISIOTERAPEUTA

Abstract

Labor is a way of survival, of self-realisation and of social integration. It can both aid and harm the dynamic equilibrium that is needed for the functioning of the organism as a whole, which we call health. The aims of this research were: to verify the perception of stress and its causes in the labour of the physiotherapist; amd to question coping and resilience in relation to stress in these professionals. A qualitative, exploratory study was done, in which participated sixteen physiotherapists (nine women and seven men) in the city of Goiânia. The study followed the injunctions of Grounded Theory , an inductive process of analysis, ordering and progressive reduction of categories in the elaboration of a theory that explains the researched question. The results indicate that physiotherapist face a variety of stress at work. Common causes of stress are: low salaries, work overload and professional under-valorization. All of these are part of the labor environment, and not of the work in itself. The profession sees itself subdued and under-valued by other professions and by society. Common psychological symptoms of stress are: anxiety, being unable to stop thinking of work and trouble concentrating. The most frequent physical symptoms are: pains and tiredness. Among coping strategies, physical activity and leisure predominate. The love for the profession, the satisfaction of being a physiotherapist, autonomy in the execution of one s work and the perceived respect from the patient are the most important factors of resilience found in this study. We conclude that the labor environment of the physiotherapist is stressful and that measures concerning the organization of the work and the strengthening of the profession as a category are called for. On the other side, the professionals seem to use adequate coping strategies and demonstrate notable resilience, the later being in part directly related to their professional vocation.