This study compared the balance between effort (E) and reward (R) among physicians and nurses working in pediatric (PED) and neonatal (NEO) Intensive Care Units. This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out with 37 physicians and 20 nurses. The Effort-Reward Imbalance Questionnaire was used. Statistically significant differences were not found among physicians (p>0.05) or nurses from PED and NEO in relation to E and R (p>0.05). No statistically significant differences were found between physicians and nurses in PED in the several studied variables. Comparison between the professionals working in NEO revealed that physicians presented more over-commitment than nurses (p=0.01). The organizational setting of NEO proved to be more demanding for physicians, exacting a greater commitment to their work, while demands presented in both units seemed to be the same for nurses.
Intensive Care Units; Pediatrics; Neonatology; Stress; Physicians; Nurses