Psychosocial factors at work and teachers' illness: a systematic review

The aim of the present study is to analyze scientific evidence about associations between psychosocial factors at work and teachers' illness. A systematic literature review based on the PRISMA statement was conducted. Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde, Medical Literature Analysis and Retrievel System Online, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Scopus, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and Excerpta Medica Database databases were searched. Articles in Portuguese, English and Spanish, published in the past 11 years, were of interest. In total, 861 articles were identified, but only 15 of them met all the eligibility criteria and were included in the review. Eleven articles (73.3%) used validated instruments to assess psychosocial factors, and the Job Content Questionnaire was the most cited one. Low social support, heavy workload, high job demands, and low job control were the most commonly investigated factors and showed statistically significant associations with teachers' illness.

Social Vulnerability of Brazilian Metropolitan Schools and Teachers' Absence from Work Due to Vocal and Psychological Symptoms: A Multilevel Analysis

Teachers' voices and psychological symptoms are the main reasons for absence from work. The objectives of this study were: (i) to spatially represent, through a webGIS, the standardized rates of teachers' absences due to voice (outcome 1) and psychological symptoms (outcome 2) in each Brazilian Federative Unit (FU = 26 states plus Federal District) and (ii) to analyze the relationship between each national outcome rate and the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) of the municipality where urban schools are located, adjusted for sex, age, and working conditions. This cross-sectional study comprised 4979 randomly sampled teachers working in basic education urban schools, of which 83.3% are women. The national absence rates were 17.25% for voice symptoms and 14.93% for psychological symptoms. The rates, SVI, and school locations in the 27 FUs are dynamically visualized in webGIS. The multilevel multivariate logistic regression model showed a positive association between voice outcome and high/very high SVI (OR = 1.05 [1.03; 1.07]), whereas psychological symptoms were negatively associated with high/very high SVI (OR = 0.86 [0.85 0.88]) and positively associated with intermediate SVI (OR = 1.15 [1.13; 1.16]), in contrast with low/very low SVI. Being a woman (voice: OR = 1.36 [1.35; 1.38]; psychological: 1.22 [1.21; 1.24]) and working in schools with various precarious conditions (17 variables) increased the odds of being absent due to voice and psychological symptoms. The results confirm the need for investments to improve working conditions in schools.

Self-referred personal behavior profile of university professors: association with communicative and vocal self-evaluation

PURPOSE

Describe the self-referred personal behavior profiles of university professors and verify the association of these profiles with the self-assessment of communicative aspects and vocal symptoms.

METHODS

Study conducted with 334 professors at a public university who responded to an online questionnaire regarding voice use in teaching practice. Personal behavior profile classification was the response variable, which was divided into four types: pragmatic, analytical, expressive and affable. Explanatory variables were vocal self-perception, vocal resources, and communicative aspects. Descriptive data analysis was performed with application of the Pearson's Chi-squared and Fisher's Exact tests.

RESULTS

University professors identified themselves more with the affable and expressive personal behavior profiles. Overall, professors presented good self-perception about vocal and communicative aspects, in addition to having reported few vocal symptoms. Profiles differed for some of the assessed variables, namely, pragmatic professors reported high speech velocity and sporadic eye contact; expressive professors demonstrated self-perception about their voice and strong voice intensity; those in the analytical profile self-reported negative perception about vocal quality, weak voice intensity, poor articulation and rapid speaking rate; the other professors mostly reported voice tiredness symptoms and difficulty projecting the voice.

CONCLUSION

University professors identify themselves mostly with the affable and expressive profiles. Self-perception analysis of the personal behavior profile in university professors showed the influence of self-reported personality characteristics on communicative skills in the classroom.

Autopercepção das condições de trabalho por professores de ensino fundamental

RESUMO Objetivo: investigar a percepção dos aspectos ambientais e psicossociais do trabalho de professores de escolas públicas de ensino fundamental e relacionar aos sintomas de desconforto vocal. Métodos: estudo transversal com amostra probabilística de professores de escolas municipais. Participaram do estudo 90 indivíduos (18 homens e 72 mulheres) distribuídos nas faixas etárias de 24 a 65 anos. O instrumento de investigação foi um questionário com 40 questões composto por 5 blocos de perguntas. Foram realizadas: análise descritiva e analise de regressão linear uni e multivariada para verificar as associações entre o número de sintomas vocais e as condições de trabalho dos professores. Resultados: aproximadamente um terço dos professores (34,4%) relataram a presença dos 8 sintomas vocais (média=5,6/DP=2,4). Com relação às características do ambiente de trabalho, a maior parte dos docentes refere ruído elevado ou insuportável como competição sonora ao uso da voz, sendo (43,3%) da sala de aula, e (41,1%) da escola. Quanto aos aspectos psicossociais do trabalho 54,4% dos professores relatou baixa demanda psicológica e 55,6% baixo suporte social. No modelo multivariado final, a variável que apresentou associação com número de sintomas foi o ruído dentro da sala de aula. Conclusão: professores de ensino fundamental apresentam elevado número de sintomas de desconforto vocal. O desconforto vocal se associa significativamente com a presença do ruído em sala de aula. A relação entre os aspectos psicossociais do trabalho e os problemas de voz, apesar de não ter se diferenciado quanto ao número de sintomas vocais neste estudo, precisa ser investigada.