Trabalho e riscos de adoecimento no Serviço de Atendimento Móvel de Urgência (SAMU): contribuições da ergonomia da atividade

Abstract

The Mobile Emergency Care Service (SAMU) is an important gateway to the Unified Health System (SUS) and the main component of the National Emergency Care Policy (PNAU). Faced with the COVID-19 pandemic, emergency care has increased, directly impacting the organization of SAMU's work. The present study evaluated the work and risks of illness at SAMU during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the theoretical framework of ergonomics of the activity, three scales of the Work Inventory and Risks of Illness (ITRA) were applied – Escala de Avaliação do Contexto de Trabalho, Escala de Custo Humano no Trabalho and Escala de Avaliação de Danos Relacionados ao Trabalho. 169 workers participated in the study, distributed in 16 Brazilian states. The results found show that socio-professional relationships, working conditions and cognitive cost are the factors that most influence work. Mobile pre-hospital workers are constantly faced with the lack of materials and the insufficient number of ambulances, which compromises the quality of the service. Being, of fundamental importance, the elaboration of strategies and new protocols that come to match the reality of work. Immediate short- and medium-term measures are suggested, aimed at eliminating or reducing the risks of illness present in this professional occupation.