Occupational vulnerability and health perception of employees of the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS)

Abstract

This investigation describes a typology for instability of work contracts, focusing beyond parameters traditional used, such as type of contract, working hours and work productivity. Others aspects of the working place and time allocation for activities and tasks outside the working environment affect the insertion of individuals in the work market. Thus, considering the flexibility of the method and the extensive availability of data on subjects and their socioeconomical development, we applied the Grade of Membership (GoM) Method to data collected from 1,808 workers of the municipal health network of Belo Horizonte. Subjects participated in an epidemiological survey performed in 2009. All professionals working at public municipal health services were considered eligible for the study, regardless of their working contract (stable, temporary, trainee). The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (approval n. 542/07). Results showed the increasing vulnerability of workers belonging to the health sector due to sub-standard working conditions. The results also indicated the importance of studying work activities to identify stress agents and other environmental factors associated with harmful situations and with illness. Some of the individual characteristics of the target population (age, gender, years of work, etc.) are not susceptible to external actions, although policies can change factors involving individuals.