Minor psychiatric disorders in primary health care workers in Brazil: Differences by function

The mental health problems are one of the most prevalent among health workers. There is a scarcity of research addressing this issue in Primary Health Care (PHC) workers. We assessed the prevalence of Minor Psychiatric Disorders (MPD) and associated factors in PHC workers in Brazil. A health service survey targeted all the workers registered in 240 PHC centers in the urban area of 41 municipalities over 100,000 inhabitants in seven states in the South and Northeast regions, during 2005. The MPD was screened by the Brazilian version of “Self Report Questionnaire”. The independent variables include socio-demographic, occupational, behavioral and health characteristics. We interviewed 4,749 workers and the prevalence of MPD was 16%, with differences (p < 0.001) related to the work performed in the PHC centers. It was 13% for doctors and professionals with higher education, 15% for professional nurses and 19% for community health workers and other mid-level workers. The prevalence of MPD was higher among younger, sedentary, those who reported any health problems, more time working at PHC centers and dissatisfied with the structure of the services, home care, teamwork and meetings with the community. The study contributes to the assessment of mental health in PHC workers, identifying patterns of occurrence, associated factors and vulnerable groups. It is useful in the design of policies addressing the health workers, including interventions for mental health promotion, risk prevention and control of diseases. It highlights the potential of epidemiological studies to assess working conditions and health of PHC workers.