Abstract

SEGURA, Omar. Burnout: Towards a social epidemiology of the intensive care unit. rev.fac.med. [online]. 2016, vol.64, n.4, pp.721-725. ISSN 0120-0011.  https://doi.org/10.15446/revfacmed.v64n4.55019.

Some social epidemiology authors propose studying the health-disease balance based on the notion of social systems interconnected by hierarchical levels; this proposition transcends the quantitative and probabilistic aspects by addressing different levels of reality, from the individual to the global, or based on the space-time-location continuum and historicity. The intensive care unit can be seen as one of these social systems, since it requires a high scientific and technologically complex medical facility for monitoring, support, care and treatment of critical and prone to preventable death patients. This task can be so challenging for intensive care doctors who can feel overwhelmed beyond simple physical fatigue, resulting in the so-called burnout, a public health issue that remains in the shade for several reasons.

Configuration and social system notions are proposed here and are expressed in four basic categories: specialty, equipment, building and environment, which act as elements susceptible of comprehensive research. The conclusions include some advantages of applying this alternative, which are generated through a qualitative- quantitative research approach to non-communicable diseases that may affect, in this particular case, the body of professionals and hospital health technicians.

Keywords : Public Health; Epidemiology; Knowledge; Health Services Research; Burnout, Professional (MeSH)..

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