Abstract

ARAUJO, Tânia Maria de et al. Health and teachers´ work: giving visibility to wearing process and illness among teachers starting from a collective production network. Educ. Rev. [online]. 2003, n.37, pp.183-212. ISSN 0102-4698.

In the last years, the teachers´ work process has undergone several changes, most them leading to hazardous repercussions to health. This study presents the findings of four surveys carried out among teachers from the public and private teaching net in the State of Bahia, Brazil, at different levels (fundamental, intermediate and university). All the four surveys had the cross-sectional design and used the same epidemiological techniques basically. Evaluations included description of teachers´ work, socio demographic characteristics, work conditions and their mental and physical health. A high level of mental and physical wearing was found, despite the young age (35 years) of the studied populations (around 35 years). Most relevant disease complaints were related to the continuous use of the voice (sore throat, hoarseness, temporary loss of the voice), to body posture at work (black and limbs pain) and their repercussions on the psycho emotional performance (tiredness, nervousness). Psychological distress was found as a relevant problem in all studies. The observed health situation deserves further attention and points out to the needing of immediate changes in the conception and execution of teachers´ work process and work conditions.

Keywords : Occupational Health; Teachers´ Work; Work Conditions; Epidemiology; Teacher’s Heath.

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