Abstract
This study aimed to compare the evaluation of the working environment and the rates of alcohol abuse, depression and Burnout Syndrome among health care workers from a public and a private hospital of the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, between January 2009 and January 2010. It is a quantitative study of descriptive and comparative type. Participants were 182 health workers, which 92 from public hospital and 90 from private hospital. Participants answered five instruments individually: sociodemographic and labor questionnaire, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, Beck Depression Inventory, Maslach Burnout Inventory and Work Context Assessment Scale. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistical analysis and Student t test for comparison of means between groups of the two hospital types. Results indicated that the work context was rated significantly more negative by workers of the public hospital. The data also showed higher rates of illness in professionals working in this type of institution. It was concluded that mental illness of health workers is more related to the type of working environment (public or private) than professional category.
Keywords
health worker; worker's health; hospital; private sector; public sector