Headache at work: Impact on productivity and absenteeism [Cefaleia no trabalho: Impacto na produtividade e absenteísmo]

Abstract

Background: Headache is undoubtedly one of the biggest reasons for suffering humanity and with emphasis on occupational medicine. It is observed that the diagnosis covers a large part of workers from different professional fields. Objective: The main objective of this study was to ascertain the impact of the occurrence of headache on productivity and absenteeism of medical residents in a general hospital. Methods: It is based on quantitative cross-sectional study protocol applied to residents of the Municipal Hospital Dr. José de Carvalho Florence in São José dos Campos (SP), in the period from February to April 2011. Residents who participated in the research were those who reported having at least one episode of headache, informing the characteristics of the occurrence of headache. Results: Answered the questionnaire 47 subjects of 53 practicing physicians. It was found that the average age was 27.2 years and the average difference between the ages of women and men was not statistically significant. The Medical Clinic was the area of expertise most prevalent with 23.4% of subjects. It can be noted that rarely there was interference in the activities of labor productivity, absenteeism, and een in the data record that might have significant connotations with age, intensity, duration and frequency of episodes of headache. Moreover, there was slight interference of headache, when considering the female. Conclusions: It was possible to infer that the headache in the workplace, among Residents, is considered a low impact on the performance of their occupational activities and for absenteeism at work.