The purpose of this study was to identify occupational risks to which head nurses of the hospitalization unit at a university hospital were exposed. It was carried out with a quantitative descriptive approach and involved 30 head nurses. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire proposed by Boix & Vogel (1997) in their Risk Assessment at the Workplace, which was adapted by Mauro (2001) to be used in hospitals. Results showed that risk factors cause an impact on health professionals and, consequently, provide an unfavorable environment for the development of their professional activities. As a result, it may affect their health and professional life in a negative way. The predominant variables were inappropriate environment and maintenance, insufficient or inadequate use of individual and collective protection equipment, ergonomic constraints on account of inappropriate load and body posture when developing occupational activities, and accelerated work rate due to lack of human and material resources. The research diagnosed nurses' workplace risks, provided information to nurses to perform their tasks in a more effective way, causing fewer accidents during work, less unhealthy environment, and promoting greater satisfaction among nurses and patients.
occupational risk; ergonomics; nursing
